Russia has claimed to have captured Mariupol in what would be its biggest victory yet in its war with Ukraine, after a nearly three-month siege that reduced much of the strategic port city to a smoking ruin, with over 20,000 civilians feared dead.
Defence minister Sergei Shoigu reported to president Vladimir Putin the "complete liberation" of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol — the last stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in the city— spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
