Moscow set to call referendum on Mariupol joining Russia, says Ukraine

The ruins left of Mariupol, a sea resort once home to 400,000 people, are largely occupied by Russia, although as many as 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers are holding out in the sprawling Azovstal steelworks by the port in the face of remorseless shelling.

Andryushchenko told the Observer that an announcement of a referendum could come as early as Sunday, although he said there was no evidence yet of polling stations being established.

The remorseless shelling endured by the civilian population in the region had also paused, according to the regional governor, Oleh Sinegubov, while Ukrainian forces were launching a counteroffensive near the city of Izyum, 78 miles south of Kharkiv.

Speaking on at a press conference in Kyiv, Natalia Zarytska, the wife of Bogdan Sements, who is among those trapped in the steelworks, called on China to intervene and help liberate the remaining people.

Hanna Ivleieva, a military service person and wife of a soldier in Mariupol, said only those who had lost their arms or legs were not fighting among the Ukrainian forces left in the city.

The G7 countries said they would expand sanctions on Russia and that they would not accept the new borders Russia is seeking to draw.