Mariupol 'will NOT surrender': Besieged Ukrainian city where 300,000 are trapped vows to fight to the LAST soldier and rejects Russia's demand to lay down their arms or face 'humanitarian crisis' - as those who do make it out go to 'filtration camps'

 Ukraine has rejected Russian demands that troops in the Black Sea port Mariupol lay down their weapons and surrender in return for letting tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the heavily besieged city leave safely - saying promises of amnesty cannot be trusted and they are determined to fight 'to the last soldier'.

Russian Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev laid out Moscow's offer late Sunday, saying Ukrainian troops and 'foreign mercenaries' who laid down their arms and raised white flags would be allowed to leave via 'humanitarian corridors'. Civilians would then be evacuated afterwards. He gave Ukraine until 5am to respond.

Daria Morozova, of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said that all of those who remained behind would face a military tribunal for 'all the crimes of the Ukrainian national battalions.' She said inspectors would be sent into the city once it had been 'completely cleansed' by Russian troops. 

But Mariupol rejected the demands within minutes, with Pyotr Andryushenko - an adviser to the city's mayor - saying that Russian promises of amnesty could not be trusted and that troops defending the city were determined to fight down to the last man.

Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk called on Russia to stop 'wasting time on eight pages of letters' and open humanitarian corridors for civilians to leave the city instead of using them as bargaining chips. Mariupol has been under siege for three weeks with little access to food or water and no power, with multiple attempts to evacuate civilians failing amid claims Russia had bombed and shelled the escape routes.  

She told news outlet Ukrainska Pravda: 'There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms. We have already informed the Russian side about this.' Mizintsev warned of a 'humanitarian catastrophe' that will be faced by all those who remain behind after Moscow's deadline for surrender elapsed.   

His offer was made just hours after a Russian missile strike hit a school sheltering some 400 people, though there was no immediate word on casualties. Last week, Russia had bombed a theatre in the city being used to shelter children - potentially trapping hundreds of people in underground bomb shelters. There is still no word on casualties from that strike either.

And it came as Ukrainian officials claimed that people are being forcibly evacuated from parts of the city under Russian control into parts of the country currently occupied by Putin's forces - or into Russia itself. 'Several thousand' people have so-far been taken, the city council claimed, before being processed through 'filtration camps' and sent to 'remote cities' in Russia where they will be obliged to stay for years and work for free.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday decried Russia's attack on the Ukrainian port city Mariupol as 'a massive war crime', as the bloc discussed imposing more sanctions on Moscow. '[They are] destroying everything, bombarding and killing everybody,' Borrell said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Russia has also kept up its bombardment of other Ukrainian cities today, hitting a shopping mall and several apartments in the capital Kyiv in the early hours - reducing the former to rubble. Bombings in the surrounded city of Sumy also hit an ammonia plant, sparking an evacuation.

Bodies of civilians killed during the Russian bombardment of Mariupol are laid out in a park as they await burial by soldiers defending the city, on Sunday

Bodies of civilians killed during the Russian bombardment of Mariupol are laid out in a park as they await burial by soldiers defending the city, on Sunday

City workers dig graves on public land so they can bury civilians and soldiers killed in the Russian bombardment on the city of Mariupol, in the south of Ukraine, on Sunday

City workers dig graves on public land so they can bury civilians and soldiers killed in the Russian bombardment on the city of Mariupol, in the south of Ukraine, on Sunday

Local residents take cover as they hear blasts during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol

Local residents take cover as they hear blasts during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol

Civilians trapped in Mariupol city under Russian attacks are evacuated by Russian-backed separatists, as officials say people are being forcibly deported into Russia

Civilians trapped in Mariupol city under Russian attacks are evacuated by Russian-backed separatists, as officials say people are being forcibly deported into Russia

Civilians trapped in Mariupol city under Russian attacks, are evacuated in groups under the control of pro-Russian separatists

Civilians trapped in Mariupol city under Russian attacks, are evacuated in groups under the control of pro-Russian separatists

Mariupol has been surrounded by Russian forces for two weeks, which are now trying to push into the city. If it falls, it would be the biggest city captured by Russian troops so far, and would open up a 'land corridor' from rebel-held areas of Donbass to Crimea for reinforcements to pass along

Mariupol has been surrounded by Russian forces for two weeks, which are now trying to push into the city. If it falls, it would be the biggest city captured by Russian troops so far, and would open up a 'land corridor' from rebel-held areas of Donbass to Crimea for reinforcements to pass alongRefugees walk along a road as they leave the city during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port of Mariupol, Ukraine

Refugees walk along a road as they leave the city during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port of Mariupol, Ukraine

Service members of pro-Russian troops are seen atop of tanks during Ukraine-Russia conflict on the outskirts of the besieged southern port city of Mariupol today

Service members of pro-Russian troops are seen atop of tanks during Ukraine-Russia conflict on the outskirts of the besieged southern port city of Mariupol todayLocal residents carry bottles with water as Russia's invasion continues to take a toll on Ukraine in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol

Local residents carry bottles with water as Russia's invasion continues to take a toll on Ukraine in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol

Service members of pro-Russian troops are seen atop of tanks during Ukraine-Russia conflict on the outskirts of the besieged southern port city of Mariupol

Service members of pro-Russian troops are seen atop of tanks during Ukraine-Russia conflict on the outskirts of the besieged southern port city of MariupolIn a tweet he reported claims of several explosions, 'in particular, according to information at the moment, some houses and in one of the shopping centres'. 

Klitschko added that 'rescuers, medics and police are already in place' and reported 'at this time - one victim'. It is unclear if he referred to a fatality or injury.

Another post from the mayor said: 'Rescuers are extinguishing a large fire in one of the shopping centres in the Podolsk district of the capital. All services - rescue, medics, police - work on site. The information is being clarified.' 

This comes as authorities in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol say that the Russian military has bombed an art school where about 400 people had taken refuge. 

Local authorities said today that the school building was destroyed and people could remain under the rubble, but there was no immediate word on casualties.

The Russian governor of Sevastopol, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, said on Sunday that Post Captain Andrei Paliy, deputy commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, had been killed during fighting in Mariupol.  

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 7,295 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors on Sunday, 3,985 of them from Mariupol. She said the government planned to send nearly 50 buses to Mariupol on Monday for further evacuations.

The last EU diplomat to evacuate the besieged Ukrainian port said: 'What I saw, I hope no one will ever see.'

Greece's consul general in Mariupol, Manolis Androulakis, left the city on Tuesday.

After a four-day trip through Ukraine he crossed to Romania through Moldavia, along with 10 other Greek nationals.

As he arrived in Athens today, Mr Androulakis said: 'Mariupol will become part of a list of cities that were completely destroyed by war; I don't need to name them- they are Guernica, Coventry, Aleppo, Grozny, Leningrad.'

According to the Greek Foreign Ministry, Androulakis was the last EU diplomat to leave Mariupol.The Ukrainian flag has been projected onto the Russian Embassy in London as protesters outside called for an end to the war and violence

The Ukrainian flag has been projected onto the Russian Embassy in London as protesters outside called for an end to the war and violence

A woman walks out of a heavily damaged building after bombing in Satoya neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, today, amid damaged buildings and debris

A woman walks out of a heavily damaged building after bombing in Satoya neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, today, amid damaged buildings and debris

An injured local resident smokes at an area where a residential building was hit by the debris from a downed rocket, in Kyiv today as Russian forces try to encircle the Ukrainian capital

An injured local resident smokes at an area where a residential building was hit by the debris from a downed rocket, in Kyiv today as Russian forces try to encircle the Ukrainian capital

A resident stands with her dog next to a destroyed building, amid debris, after a bombing in Satoya neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine today

A resident stands with her dog next to a destroyed building, amid debris, after a bombing in Satoya neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine todayThree have today been injured in air strike on western Ukraine, emergency services said, as thirteen buildings were damaged in the attack, which targeted the Korostensky district north of the region's main city Zhytomyr.

'Three people were injured,' a Facebook post from Ukraine's emergency services added, posting images of burning buildings and scattered charred debris.

Also on Sunday, Russia's defence ministry said its 'high-precision missiles' hit a training centre of Ukrainian special forces in Zhytomyr region, around 150 kilometres (90 miles) west of Ukraine's capital Kyiv.

'More than 100 (Ukrainian) servicemen of the special forces and foreign mercenaries were destroyed,' in the attack, the ministry said.

Terrifying footage has emerged apparently showing Russia firing deadly thermobaric TOS-1A rockets, which can allegedly melt human organs.

Moscow defence sources claimed: 'The TOS-1A Solntsepek was used against Ukrainian nationalists by the people's militia of the Donetsk People's Republic with the support of the Russian army during a special operation in Ukraine.'

Earlier Zelensky also said Russia's siege of the port city was 'a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come'. 

His comments came after local authorities said Russian troops had forcefully deported several thousand people from the besieged city last week, after Russia had spoken of 'refugees' arriving from the strategic port. 

'Over the past week, several thousand Mariupol residents were deported onto the Russian territory,' the city council said in a statement on its Telegram channel late on Saturday. 

'The occupiers illegally took people from the Livoberezhniy district and from the shelter in the sports club building, where more than a thousand people (mostly women and children) were hiding from the constant bombing.'

 Zelensky said the siege of Mariupol would 'go down in history of responsibility for war crimes'.

'To do this to a peaceful city... is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come.' 

Meanwhile, authorities in Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv say at least five civilians, including a nine-year-old boy, have been killed in the latest Russian shelling. 

This comes as Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba has on Twitter posted about protests in Energodar, a city in the country's north-west oblast, following claims that Russian forces have abducted its deputy mayor.

Mr Kuleba's tweet said: 'Brave Ukrainians in Energodar hold a peaceful protest demanding to release deputy mayor Ivan Samoidyuk who was abducted by Russian invaders. Russians thought they could impose their authoritarian rules in democratic Ukraine. Instead, they need to go home.'

Earlier this month President Zelensky demanded the release of Melitopol's mayor after his alleged kidnap by Russian troops, which sparked local protests.

The Ukrainian leader said the capture was an 'attempt to bring the city to its knees' and demanded the immediate release of Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of the besieged city. 

Mr Fedorov is understood to have been released according to Ukrainian authorities, Sky News reports.  

Zelensky today also urged Israel to 'make its choice' and abandon its effort to maintain neutrality towards the invasion. 

The Ukrainian leader, who is Jewish, made the appeal during an address to Israeli lawmakers, the latest in a series of speeches by videoconference to foreign legislatures.

In remarks that at several points compared Russian aggression to the Holocaust, Zelensky said that 'Ukraine made the choice to save Jews 80 years ago.'

'Now it's time for Israel to make its choice.'

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has walked a careful diplomatic line since Russia launched its invasion on February 24.

Stressing Israel's strong ties to Moscow and Kyiv, Bennett has sought to preserve delicate security cooperation with Russia, which has troops in Syria, across Israel's northern border.

He has held regular phone calls with Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, including a three-hour meeting with the Russian President at the Kremlin on March 5.

While Ukrainian officials have voiced appreciation for Bennett's mediation efforts, Zelensky today implied that this too had proven to be a misstep.

'We can mediate between states but not between good and evil,' the Ukrainian leader said. 

Civilians trapped in Mariupol city under Russian attacks, are evacuated in groups under the control of pro-Russian separatists, through other cities, in Mariupol, Ukraine on March 20

Civilians trapped in Mariupol city under Russian attacks, are evacuated in groups under the control of pro-Russian separatists, through other cities, in Mariupol, Ukraine on March 20

Pro-Russian separatists seemed to be carrying out strip-searches on some of the fleeing Ukrainian civilians in Mariupol on Sunday

Pro-Russian separatists seemed to be carrying out strip-searches on some of the fleeing Ukrainian civilians in Mariupol on Sunday 

This man (left) was asked to remove both his trousers and his top, even though it seemed to be snowing

This man (left) was asked to remove both his trousers and his top, even though it seemed to be snowing 

Pro-Putin soldiers were wrapped up against the cold as they allowed civilians to leave Mariupol
The pro-Putin soldiers seemed to be in good spirits despite the brutal war and cold weather

Pro-Putin soldiers were wrapped up against the cold as they allowed civilians to leave Mariupol on Sunday, March 20

Pro-Russian separatists gave directions to civilians trying to escape the heavily bombarded city of Mariupol

Pro-Russian separatists gave directions to civilians trying to escape the heavily bombarded city of Mariupol 

Groups of Ukrainians fleeing the war left the city in the southeast of the country, where there has been intense fighting

Groups of Ukrainians fleeing the war left the city in the southeast of the country, where there has been intense fighting

Previous humanitarian corridors in the war-torn country had failed after Russia allegedly bombed civilians who were trying to leave

Previous humanitarian corridors in the war-torn country had failed after Russia allegedly bombed civilians who were trying to leaveChancellor Rishi Sunak has said that the West needs to have a 'degree of scepticism' about the prospect of a peace deal between Russia and Ukrainevas Kyiv looked to stand firm against giving up territory in a settlement. 

Speaking today, the Chancellor said it is 'encouraging' that discussions are under way but the West has to be on its guard.

Mr Sunak told Sky News' Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: 'You have to have some degree of scepticism about it given the track record of these things.

'I think the most important thing is that any talk of a settlement must be on Ukraine's terms.

'And the best thing we can do is just maintain the significant pressure that we are bringing to bear on Putin, but also providing support to the Ukrainians in the meantime - that's the best we can do and the Ukrainians will take the lead.'

An official in Mr Zelensky's office told the Associated Press that the main subject discussed between the two sides last week was whether Russian troops would remain in separatist regions in eastern Ukraine after the war and where the borders would lie.

But a Ukraine politician said while her country is open to further meetings with Russia, it is not prepared to give up land to the aggressor.

Olha Stefanishyna, deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, told Sky News that re-drawing Ukraine's borders is 'absolutely not' being considered.

'Ukrainian territory is a territory which has been fixed (since) 1991,' she said.

'That is not an option for discussion.'

According to reports, Kyiv has insisted on the inclusion of one or more Western nuclear powers in the negotiations with the Kremlin and on legally binding security guarantees for Ukraine.

Asked whether the UK would act as a security guarantor to the Ukrainians as part of any peace deal, Mr Sunak - who confirmed his family will not be taking in a Ukrainian refugee - said it is 'probably a bit too early to get into the details' of what an agreement might look like. 

Elsewhere, Boris Johnson has urged China to get off the fence and join in global condemnation of Russia's invasion.

The Prime Minister, in comments made to the Sunday Times, said he believes some in Xi Jinping's administration are having 'second thoughts' about the neutral stance adopted by Beijing following Russia's actions against its neighbour. 

But today China's ambassador to the US defended his country's refusal to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Speaking with CBS's 'Face the Nation' Qin Gang said condemnation 'doesn't solve the problem'.

He said: 'I would be surprised if Russia will back down by condemnation.'

Mr Gang added: '(China) will continue to promote peace talks and urge immediate fire.

'And, you know, condemnation, you know, only, doesn't help. We need wisdom. We need courage and we need good diplomacy.'

Zelensky also said peace talks with Russia were needed although they were 'not easy and pleasant'. He said he discussed the course of the talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday.

'Ukraine has always sought a peaceful solution. Moreover, we are interested in peace now,' he said.

Vladimir Putin has reportedly 'finally agreed' to meet in person with Zelensky for peace talks.

So far the negotiations have been between middle men on neutral ground but the war has continued into its fourth week.

The Russian tyrant will allegedly meet President Zelensky 'at some point', the Express reported. 

The two leaders have let their diplomatic teams conduct peace talks on the neutral ground since shortly after the start of the conflict on February 24, but a BBC correspondent has confirmed the two will meet in person.

Putin has come to terms with fact he will have to lead the negotiations at some time in the future, the BBC's Lysa Doucet said.

She said: 'The diplomats are talking, the negotiators are talking. We understand President Putin has finally agreed that he will meet, at some point, President Zelensky who has been asking for a meeting since January. 

'He hasn't said it in public, he says quite the opposite in public.'

She added: 'The Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is very busy, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is very busy. 

'They've said privately their understanding is that President Putin will meet President Zelensky when the time is right. But the time is not right now.' 

Meanwhile, Russia's military isn't even recovering the bodies of its soldiers in some places, Zelensky said.

'In places where there were especially fierce battles, the bodies of Russian soldiers simply pile up along our line of defence. And no one is collecting these bodies,' he said.

He described a battle near Chornobayivka in the south, where Ukrainian forces held their positions and six times beat back the Russians, who just kept 'sending their people to slaughter'. 

Russian news agencies, citing the country's defence ministry, have said buses carrying several hundred people - which Moscow calls refugees - have been arriving in Russia from Mariupol in recent days. An evacuation of civilians from secure corridors pictured in Mariupol, Ukraine on March 18

An evacuation of civilians from secure corridors pictured in Mariupol, Ukraine on March 18

Service members of pro-Russian troops drive an armoured vehicle in Mariupol, Ukraine on March 19

Service members of pro-Russian troops drive an armoured vehicle in Mariupol, Ukraine on March 19A discarded pram pictured as an evacuation of civilians from secure corridors took place in Mariupol, Ukraine on March 18

A discarded pram pictured as an evacuation of civilians from secure corridors took place in Mariupol, Ukraine on March 18

Earlier on Sunday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia's siege of the port city of Mariupol was 'a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come'

Earlier on Sunday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia's siege of the port city of Mariupol was 'a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come'

Service members of pro-Russian troops in uniforms without insignia drive an armoured vehicle during Russia's invasion of Mariupol

Service members of pro-Russian troops in uniforms without insignia drive an armoured vehicle during Russia's invasion of MariupolA man helps Ukrainian soldiers searching for bodies in the debris at a military school hit by Russian rockets, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine

A man helps Ukrainian soldiers searching for bodies in the debris at a military school hit by Russian rockets, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine

Saved: A Ukrainian recruit was rescued after 30 hours from debris of the military school hit by Russian rockets, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, on March 19

Saved: A Ukrainian recruit was rescued after 30 hours from debris of the military school hit by Russian rockets, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, on March 19

A Russian attack on a barracks for young Ukrainian recruits in the middle of the night that killed at least 50 young Ukrainian recruits was branded as 'cowardly'.

Russian rockets struck the military school in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, on Friday, killing dozens of young Ukrainian ensigns at their brigade headquarters. 

Ukrainian soldier Maxim, 22, who was at the barracks, said 'no fewer than 200 soldiers were sleeping in the barracks' at the time of the strike.

'At least 50 bodies have been recovered, but we do not know how many others are in the rubble,' he said.

Vitaly Kim, the governor of Mykolaiv, said Russia 'hit our sleeping soldiers with a rocket in a cowardly manner.'

Meanwhile Olga Malarchuk, a military official, said: 'We aren't allowed to say anything because the rescue operation isn't over and the families haven't all been informed.

'We are not yet able to announce a toll and I cannot tell you how many soldiers were present'.

Russia also said it had fired a second 'unstoppable' hypersonic Kinzhal missile at a fuel depot in Kostyantynivka, in the southern region of Mykolaiv.

A MiG-31K jet fired the aeroballistic missile at the warehouse as it was flying over Crimea.

Major General Igor Konashenkov, from the Russian Defence Ministry, said the target was the main supply of fuel for Ukrainian armoured cars in the south of the country. 

He claimed the missile had destroyed the depot. It is the second time Russia says it has used the missile in Ukraine, after a weapons storage site was destroyed in Deliatyn, in the Carpathian Mountains in western Ukraine, on Friday.

NATO deem the weapon so powerful it has been nicknamed The Sizzler.  

At least 200 soldiers were sleeping at the time of the attack, which was branded 'cowardly' by the governor of Mykolaiv

At least 200 soldiers were sleeping at the time of the attack, which was branded 'cowardly' by the governor of Mykolaiv

Russian forces carried out a large-scale air strike on Mykolaiv, killing at least 50 Ukrainian soldiers at their brigade headquarters

Russian forces carried out a large-scale air strike on Mykolaiv, killing at least 50 Ukrainian soldiers at their brigade headquarters

Ukrainian soldiers search for bodies in the debris at the military school hit by Russian rockets the day before, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, on March 19

Ukrainian soldiers search for bodies in the debris at the military school hit by Russian rockets the day before, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, on March 19

Russia has never before admitted using the high-precision weapon in combat.

Moscow claims the 'Kinzhal'- or Dagger - is 'unstoppable' by current Western weapons. The missile, which has a range of 2,000 kilometer (1,250 miles), is nuclear capable.

However, both hypersonic strikes so far have not been nuclear.

'The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region', the Russian defence ministry said Saturday. 

Russian Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov also said that the Russian forces used the anti-ship missile system Bastion to strike Ukrainian military facilities near the Black Sea port of Odessa.

Aerial footage released by the Russian military claimed to show the missile strike. Large, long buildings are shown in the footage in a snowy region, before one is obliterated by a huge explosion - sending flames, earth and debris high into the air. People can be seen on the ground fleeing as smoke pours from the site.

Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuri Ignat confirmed that a storage site had been targeted, but added that Kyiv had no information regarding the type of missile that was used.

'The enemy targeted our depots' but 'we have no information of the type of missile,' he said. 'There has been damage, destruction and the detonation of munitions. They are using all the missiles in their arsenal against us.'   

Russia reportedly first used the weapon during its military campaign in Syria in 2016 to support the Assad regime, although it was unclear if this was the same model. Some of the most intense bombing came in 2016 during the battle for Aleppo, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has termed the missile 'an ideal weapon' that flies at 10 times the speed of sound, which is 7672.69 miles per hour, and can overcome air-defence systems.

Deliatyn, a picturesque village in the foothills of the picturesque Carpathian mountains, is located outside the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. The region of Ivano-Frankivsk shares a 30-mile long border with NATO member Romania. 

Konashenkov noted that the Kalibr cruise missiles launched by Russian warships from the Caspian Sea were also involved in the strike on the fuel depot in Kostiantynivka. He said Kalibr missiles launched from the Black Sea were used to destroy an armor repair plant in Nizhyn in the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine.

Konashenkov added that another strike by air-launched missiles hit a Ukrainian facility in Ovruch in the northern Zhytomyr region where foreign fighters and Ukrainian special forces were based.

The British defense ministry said the Ukrainian Air Force and air defense forces are 'continuing to effectively defend Ukrainian airspace'.

'Russia has failed to gain control of the air and is largely relying on stand-off weapons launched from the relative safety of Russian airspace to strike targets within Ukraine', the ministry said on Twitter. 

'Gaining control of the air was one of Russia's principal objectives for the opening days of the conflict and their continued failure to do so has significantly blunted their operational progress.' 

A Ukrainian military official meanwhile confirmed to a Ukrainian newspaper that Russian forces carried out a missile strike Friday on a missile and ammunition warehouse in the Deliatyn settlement of the Ivano-Frankivsk region in western Ukraine.

But Ukraine's Air Forces spokesman Yurii Ihnat told Ukrainskaya Pravda on Saturday that it has not been confirmed that the missile was indeed a hypersonic Kinzhal.  

Russia also boasted in a chilling newly-released video how it is using adapted Israeli reconnaissance combat drone technology to kill in Ukraine.

The footage shows a Forpost-R destroying a battery of Ukrainian howitzers and military hardware.

Israel six years ago stopped supplying components for the drone - but Russia still has a force of around 100.

The Russian defence ministry said: 'Unmanned aerial vehicles of the Aerospace Forces carried out missile strikes on a self-propelled artillery battery of 122mm howitzers and military hardware of the Ukrainian armed forces.

'A battery of self-propelled artillery guns, armoured vehicles and vehicles were destroyed by airborne weapons.'

The import-substituted Forpost-R drone is a licensed version of the Israeli Searcher MkII.

The drone was supplied to Russia but was designed exclusively for reconnaissance.

It is an improved and indigenised model variant of the Forpost (Outpost), the Israeli Searcher Mk II UAV assembled by Yekaterinburg-based Ural Civil Aviation Plant.

From 2016, Israel stopped supplying components to Russia, apparently under pressure from the US, triggering the move by the Kremlin to adapt the drone.

The Forpost-R unmanned combat aerial vehicle was first seen a week ago deployed by Russia in the current conflict.

The video is believed to show the combat drone taking off from Gomel, in Belarus, and striking at targets in Ukraine.

Mariupol, a key connection to the Black Sea, has been a target since the start of the war on February 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched what he calls a 'special military operation' to demilitarise and 'denazify' Ukraine. Ukraine and the West say Putin launched an unprovoked war of aggression.

More than 1,300 people including women and babies are still feared trapped in the bombed ruins of a theatre in the besieged city of Mariupol (pictured)

More than 1,300 people including women and babies are still feared trapped in the bombed ruins of a theatre in the besieged city of Mariupol (pictured)

As Russia has sought to seize most of Ukraine's southern coast, Mariupol has assumed great importance, lying between the Russian-annexed peninsula of Crimea to the west and the Donetsk region to the east, which is partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

The U.N. human rights office said at least 847 civilians had been killed and 1,399 wounded in Ukraine as of Friday. The Ukrainian prosecutor general's office said 112 children have been killed. 

Rescue workers on Sunday were still searching for survivors in a Mariupol theatre that local authorities say was flattened by Russian air strikes on Wednesday. Russia denies hitting the theatre or targeting civilians. 

Satellite images, released on Saturday, showed the collapsed remains of the building which was sheltering hundreds of children and their families before being levelled in a Russian airstrike.

More than 1,300 people, including women and babies, are still feared trapped in the bombed ruins of the theatre in the besieged city of Mariupol as rescue efforts are hampered by constant Russian shelling. 

Their prospects of survival are growing bleaker by the day, with no supplies and Russian troops firing at rescuers trying to dig through the rubble.

Last night a local MP said those inside were forced to dig from within the wreckage because rescue attempts had been thwarted by ongoing airstrikes.

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who branded Russia's attack as 'outright terror', last night vowed to continue the rescue mission.

'Hundreds of Mariupol residents are still under the debris. Despite the shelling, despite all the difficulties, we will continue the rescue work,' he said.

On Sunday the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine shared photographs of children's drawings about the ongoing war. 

One included a dead soldier and a Russian military truck with a 'Z' symbol on it that seemed to be firing at the child, labelled 'Me', and their 'Papa' and 'Mama' as well as a pet, who are all inside a heart the colours of the Ukrainian flag.

The helpless casualties were yesterday forced to spend a third night entombed in the basement of the destroyed Drama Theatre which was hit by Vladimir Putin's forces on Wednesday
The helpless casualties were yesterday forced to spend a third night entombed in the basement of the destroyed Drama Theatre which was hit by Vladimir Putin's forces on Wednesday

The helpless casualties were yesterday forced to spend a third night entombed in the basement of the destroyed Drama Theatre which was hit by Vladimir Putin's forces on Wednesday

Feared Chechen special forces are fighting house-to-house in besieged Mariupol while 'hundreds' of women and children remain trapped in the rubble of a city theatre destroyed by Russian invaders
Feared Chechen special forces are fighting house-to-house in besieged Mariupol while 'hundreds' of women and children remain trapped in the rubble of a city theatre destroyed by Russian invaders

Feared Chechen special forces are fighting house-to-house in besieged Mariupol while 'hundreds' of women and children remain trapped in the rubble of a city theatre destroyed by Russian invaders

The propaganda video then cuts before showing some of the Chechen fighters emerging from the building with children in their arms while supposedly 'liberating' civilians
The propaganda video then cuts before showing some of the Chechen fighters emerging from the building with children in their arms while supposedly 'liberating' civilians

The propaganda video then cuts before showing some of the Chechen fighters emerging from the building with children in their arms while supposedly 'liberating' civilians

Video released by pro-Putin Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov shows heavily armed fighters from the region pounding a high-rise building in the bombed-out city during a fierce gunfight with Ukrainian soldiers

Video released by pro-Putin Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov shows heavily armed fighters from the region pounding a high-rise building in the bombed-out city during a fierce gunfight with Ukrainian soldiers

Another drawing by a Ukrainian girl called Victoria showed a female relative in camouflage, holding a rifle.

The mother of Sasha, a 10-year-old Ukrainian boy who draw a picture of himself praying, said: 'It's hard to imagine what our children have to endure. My son became an adult prematurely.' 

Russian troops have now reached the city centre and civilians remain hiding in bunkers while fighters battle on the streets.

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said: 'Tanks and machine gun battles continue. There's no city centre left. There isn't a small piece of land in the city that doesn't have signs of war.'

The devastating losses across Ukraine have sparked a poignant protest in Lviv, where 109 empty prams were arranged in solemn rows to mark the number of children killed since Russia invaded.

Local authorities said more than 130 survivors have emerged from the rubble of the Mariupol theatre which was being used as the ravaged port city's biggest civilian bomb shelter.

But they said that those saved represented just one tenth of the civilians still trapped within the refuge which miraculously withstood the blast.

Ukraine's human rights commissioner Lyudmyla Denisova said: 'According to our data there are still more than 1,300 people there who are in these basements, in that bomb shelter. We pray that they will be alive but so far there is no information about them.'

Former governor MP Serhiy Taruta said he fears many survivors will die because the city's emergency services have been destroyed by Russian troops.

'Services that are supposed to help are demolished, rescue and utility services are physically destroyed. This means that all the survivors of the bombing will either die under the ruins of the theatre, or have already died,' he wrote on Facebook.

He said those trapped had been left to dig their way out of the collapsed three-storey building.

'People are doing everything themselves. My friends went to help but due to constant shelling it was not safe.' 

Here's how YOU can help: Donate here to the Mail Force Ukraine Appeal

Readers of Mail Newspapers and MailOnline have always shown immense generosity at times of crisis.

Calling upon that human spirit, we are supporting a huge push to raise money for refugees from Ukraine.

For, surely, no one can fail to be moved by the heartbreaking images and stories of families – mostly women, children, the infirm and elderly – fleeing from the bombs and guns.

As this tally of misery increases over the coming days and months, these innocent victims of this conflict will require accommodation, schools and medical support.

Donations to the Mail Force Ukraine Appeal will be used to help charities and aid organisations providing such essential services.

In the name of charity and compassion, we urge all our readers to give swiftly and generously.

TO MAKE A DONATION ONLINE 

Donate at www.mailforcecharity.co.uk/donate 

To add Gift Aid to a donation – even one already made – complete an online form found here: mymail.co.uk/ukraine

Via bank transfer, please use these details:

Account name: Mail Force Charity

Account number: 48867365

Sort code: 60-00-01

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Zelensky: 'Mariupol blockade will go down in history of war crimes'
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