Up to 5,000 people have died in Mariupol as the Ukraine 'liberated' a major city from Russian forces, according to the city's mayor.
The claims were made by mayor Vadym Boichenko as the Ukrainian forces maintain their grip on parts of the country.
But the leader did not say how the 5,000 death toll was calculated.
It came as Oleksandr Markushyn, mayor of Irpin, near the fiercely fought over city of Kyiv, said Ukrainian forces had seized full control back over the town.
Irpin has been one of the main hotspots of fighting with Russian troops near the capital.
He said in a post on Telegram: "We have good news today - Irpin has been liberated.
"We understand that there will be more attacks on our town and we will defend it courageously."
The mayor claimed 5,000 people had died in Mariupol on the Nexta TV channel's Twitter feed where he addressed people in army fatigues and claimed the city had been liberated.
He quoted data from the mayor's office that said about 90% of buildings in Mariupol had been damaged.
Markushyn added an estimated 40% of buildings had been destroyed.
Boichenko had earlier called for the complete evacuation of the city.
He said on Monday all civilians must be evacuated to escape a humanitarian catastrophe.
Mayor Boichenko said 160,000 civilians were still trapped in the southern port city on the Sea of Azov, without heat and power after weeks of Russian bombardment.
He added 26 buses were waiting to evacuate civilians from Mariupol - which normally has a population of about 400,000 people.
But said Russian forces had not agreed to give them safe passage.
He did not say where these people were waiting.
"The situation in the city remains difficult. People are beyond the line of humanitarian catastrophe," Boichenko said on national television.
"We need to completely evacuate Mariupol."
He added: "The Russian Federation is playing with us. We are in the hands of the invaders."
The Mirror told earlier how Vladimir Putin once threatened that he could have Russian troops in six capital cities in just two days, it is claimed.
The Russian President is said to have warned former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko that he could have soldiers on the ground in Ukraine, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Romania within 48 hours.
Putin's forces are currently bogged down with fierce fighting after failing to secure the swift invasion of Ukraine he expected.
In his remarks, reportedly made in 2014, Putin claimed that he could have soldiers in the capitals of all six countries within two days.
