Ukraine braced for a climactic battle for control of the besieged country's industrial east, as Russian forces withdrew from the shattered outskirts of Kyiv to regroup and intensify their offensive across the Donbas region, where authorities urged people to evacuate before time runs out.
The mayor of the southern port city of Mariupol said Wednesday that more than 5,000 civilians had been killed there. Meanwhile, in areas north of the capital, Ukrainian officials gathered evidence of Russian atrocities amid telltale signs that Moscow’s troops killed people indiscriminately before retreating over the past several days.
