Pressure mounts on Russia as Ukraine rebels launch bloody offensive

World leaders on Sunday ramped up pressure on Moscow to stop pro-Kremlin rebels from pursuing a major new Ukrainian offensive after rockets killed 30 people in a strategic government-held port. The mayor of Mariupol’s office said 97 people were also wounded by dozens of long-distance rockets that smashed into a packed residential district and open market early in the morning and then again shortly after noon. A resident named Pavlo described dazed survivors helping wounded victims to climb out of the concrete rubble of Soviet-era apartment blocks and navigate streets strewn with shattered glass.

Obviously, everyone in the city is very scared.

Mariupol resident Eduard

Leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic Alexander Zakharchenko on Saturday claimed that “today, we launched an offensive against Mariupol”. He later denied ordering an actual invasion of the industrial Sea of Azov port of half million and his deputy rejected responsibility for the civilian deaths. But the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said the Grad and Uragan rocket fire came from two locations “controlled by the ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’”.

Europe Mariupol