7:51Ukrainian and Russian forces battled over the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Vadym Denysenko, an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, said. The Mariupol city council claimed hours later that Russian soldiers had forcibly relocated several thousand city residents, mostly women and children, to Russia. Despite the siege in Mariupol, many remained struck by Ukraine's ability to hold back its much bigger, better-armed foe. Zelensky said Russian forces are blockading the largest cities in Ukraine with the goal of creating such miserable conditions that Ukrainians will co-operate. Russian forces have fired on eight cities and villages in the eastern Donetsk region in the past 24 hours, including Mariupol, Ukraine's national police said Saturday.

Source: CBC News March 20, 2022 09:02 UTC