Russia Ukraine conflict: Putin orders blockade of last Mariupol stronghold

Vladimir Putin has ordered his forces not to storm the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the city of Mariupol – but to blockade it instead.

It’s thought that hundreds of civilians – and as many as two thousand Ukrainian soldiers – could be holed up in the Azovstal steel plant.

In a televised meeting with his defence minister, the Russian president ordered that it be blocked off “so that a fly cannot pass through”.