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A Ukrainian port city is “on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe" after Russian attacks, its mayor said, while Russia’s isolation grows.
“We are simply being destroyed,” said Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko on his Telegram channel, noting that the city has been under “merciless bombardment” from Russian forces over the past five days, not giving enough time between the firing for workers to restore utilities such as electricity and water. Graphic images of the destruction have driven Europeans to protest in their cities’ streets.
In the face of an international boycott, Russian authorities sought to stymie outside sources of information, blocking access to Facebook. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a measure into law criminalizing news coverage that accurately portrays the country’s bloody incursion into Ukraine as an “invasion,” leading BBC and major U.S. news networks, including CNN, ABC and CBS, to say they would stop reporting from Russia.