What's going on in Mariupol ?

What's been happening in Mariupol

Russia has given Ukrainian forces in Mariupol a fresh ultimatum to lay down their weapons by 11:00 GMT on Wednesday. They're holed up in a huge steelworks complex at the moment.

The port city is surrounded but still hasn't fallen, Qazet.az presents this information.

Around 130,000 citizens have been blockaded.

Why Mariupol matters

• Capturing Mariupol would leave Russia in control of a vast swathe of southern and eastern Ukraine
• It's home to an important port, which in normal times is a key export hub for steel and coal
• Mariupol is home to a Ukrainian militia unit called the Azov Brigade, which contain far-right extremists
• It would help the Kremlin to show its population controlled media that Russia was achieving its aims