Mariupol is barely holding on, Russia is testing a ballistic missile, Wimbledon has divided the world. Here are the highlights of events in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Mariupol may fall in "hours"

The commander of the forces defending Mariupol from the steel plant in the besieged port city made a desperate plea for help, saying his Marines "may be facing their last days, if not hours".

"Our enemy has an advantage of 10 to one," said Sergei Volina of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade.

The evacuation attempt failed

Efforts to evacuate civilians from Mariupol have failed again due to Russian shelling, officials in Kyiv say. "Unfortunately, today the humanitarian corridor from Mariupol did not work as planned," said Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk.

UN wants meetings between Russia and Ukraine

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has asked to meet with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine in their respective capitals, a UN spokesman said. As the organization has largely been removed from the conflict so far, Guterres made the request in letters sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Vladimir Zelensky.

Aircraft parts only

The US Department of Defense has withdrawn its claim that Ukraine has been supplied with more aircraft, saying only parts have been delivered.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that although fixed-wing aircraft were proposed by an unidentified party to strengthen Kyiv's defenses, "they have not received entire aircraft from another nation."

US leads G20 boycott of Russia

Financial officials from the world's richest countries have come together to tackle global challenges, including a possible food crisis. Before that, however, they must overcome tensions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has pulled the trigger for the withdraw of a number of finance ministers and central bankers who turned off their cameras at the start of the Russian minister's speech. Yellen was joined by British, French and Canadian officials.

German headache

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is under pressure for refusing to send heavy weapons to Ukraine. "We believe that the Bundeswehr will be able to provide us with the weapons we need at the moment," Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnik told ZDF. "We don't know why this isn't happening."

General Markus Laubenthal claims that Berlin is unable to send the weapons that Ukraine wants, as this would "significantly weaken Germany's own defense capabilities".

UN: More than five million are already refugees from Ukraine

More than five million Ukrainians have already fled their country since the Russian invasion, the United Nations said.

UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said 5,034,439 Ukrainians had left following Russia's February 24 invasion.

In contrast, more than a million Ukrainians have returned to their country since the start of the Russian invasion, a spokesman for Kyiv's border forces said.

Kyiv offered talks with Russia in besieged Mariupol

Ukraine has offered to hold a "special round" of talks with Russia in the besieged city of Mariupol.

"Yes. Without any conditions. We are ready to hold a 'special round of talks' right now in Mariupol," Ukraine's chief negotiator and presidential aide Mykhailo Podoliak wrote on Twitter, quoted by AFP. "One on one. Two on two. To save our boys, Azov, military, civilians, children, alive and wounded. All. Because they are ours. Because they are in my heart. Forever," Podoliak wrote.

Missile threat

President Vladimir Putin has said Russia has successfully tested its “Sarmat” intercontinental ballistic missile, adding that next-generation weapons capable of carrying nuclear warheads will make the Kremlin's enemies "think twice".

Head of the EU in Kyiv

During a visit to Ukraine, EU High Representative Charles Michel said the union would do "everything possible" to help Ukraine win the war and that Kyiv's application for membership in the bloc was a "priority".

He also demanded that war crimes allegedly committed by Russian forces be investigated.

Offensive in Donbas

Ukraine's defense ministry says its troops have repulsed a Russian attack in the town of Izyum, the entrance to the eastern region of Donbas, which is the target of a major Russian offensive.

Kyiv has also claimed enemy losses in a Ukrainian counterattack near the town of Marinka in southern Donbas, where pro-Russian separatists have been fighting government forces since 2014.

80% of the Luhansk region is under Russian control

Russian troops control 80% of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, the regional governor Serhiy Haidai was quoted as saying on Telegram.

According to him, Rubishne and Popasna in the Luhansk region are "partially" under Russian control. "Fierce fighting has been going on for them for weeks. And here the shelling has intensified," Haidai added.

At the beginning of the war on February 24, separatists from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) controlled about 30% of the district.

It is estimated that about 70,000 people remain in the area. Haidai said that if there is a truce for Orthodox Easter on Sunday, the authorities want to use it to the maximum for evacuations and deliveries of humanitarian aid.

Debates of Finnish MEPs for joining NATO

The Finnish parliament is launching a debate on whether to seek NATO membership.

Russia has warned of nuclear build-up in the Baltic Sea if Finland and neighboring Sweden, which is also considering joining NATO after the invasion, join the Western Alliance.

Wimbledon ban

Wimbledon has banned Russian and Belarusian players from this year's Grand Slam tournament due to the invasion of Moscow.

/BGNES

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!