LYSYCHANSK, Ukraine — The mayor of Mariupol pleaded Friday for a “full evacuation” of the shattered southern Ukrainian port city as Russia reported striking dozens of military targets in the sprawling eastern battle zone overnight.
Ukraine’s military command said its troops continued to harry the forces that Russia has been massing for a full-scale assault on the Donbas, the industrial heartland where Moscow already holds sway. Both sides said earlier this week a new phase of combat had begun in the region, encompassing the eastern provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that “helping” those provinces — taken to mean seizing them — is now his main aim.
