A Ukrainian military commander whose troops are surrounded by invading forces said he and his colleagues face their "last days, if not hours".
Serhiy Volyna, who is defending the besieged city of Mariupol, said Vladimir Putin's soldiers are outnumbering them ten to one and pleaded for help evacuating wounded civilians.
"This is our appeal to the world. This could be the last appeal of our lives," he said in a video message. "We are probably facing our last days, if not hours."
"The enemy is outnumbering us 10 to one. They have advantage in the air, in artillery, in their forces on land, in equipment and in tanks."
Earlier, Ukrainian troops accused Russia of bombing a hospital sheltering up to 300 people in the besieged city of Mariupol.
The Russian military dropped heavy bombs on the steel plant and hit an “improvised hospital”, the deputy commander of the Azov regiment said.
The bombing of the hospital was also reported by Serhiy Taruta, the former governor of the Donetsk region. He said that the hospital shelters up to 300 people, including wounded troops, civilians and children.
