With fighting in eastern Ukraine expected to intensify, the fate of Mariupol is once again in the spotlight.
Ukrainian forces have held out for weeks in the besieged port city, but fears are growing for the civilians trapped without basic supplies as Russian troops appear poised to mount a major new offensive. The strategic city’s beleaguered defenders have raised the prospect that Russian forces had used chemical weapons, an escalation the West has long feared but which remains unconfirmed.
