Russia Claims Capture of Ukraine's Mariupol, Ramps Up Assault in East

 Russia claimed Friday to have captured Ukraine's southern port city of Mariupol, after the last Ukrainian fighters holed up in the city's steelworks plant surrendered.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin that both the Azovstal steel plant and the city had been "fully liberated," according to a statement by Russia's Defense Ministry.

There was no immediate confirmation from Ukraine that Mariupol was fully under Russian control.

The port city is the scene of the war's bloodiest siege, with Russian forces having bombarded it for nearly three months. Much of Mariupol has been reduced to rubble, and more than 20,000 civilians are feared dead.

Ukrainian fighters hiding out in the city's steelworks plant had been engaged in heavy fighting with Russian forces for several weeks. Earlier this week, however, Ukrainian officials ordered the garrison to stand down to save the fighters' lives.

The evacuation of the last fighters from the Azovstal steel plant, their number unclear, followed the surrender of almost 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers in recent days, according to the Russian defense minister.

The commander of Ukraine's Azov Regiment, key to helping defend the plant, said efforts to remove the dead from the battle scene were also underway.

In other developments Friday, Russia stepped up its assault on eastern Ukraine, using artillery, rocket launchers and aircraft to pound the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk; destroying houses in residential districts; and killing civilians, according to Ukrainian civilian and military officials.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the conditions in the Donbas region, which includes Luhansk and Donetsk, as "hell" and said the region had been "destroyed" by Russia's invasion. He accused Russian forces of attempting to kill as many Ukrainians and do as much damage as possible.

The governor of Ukraine's Luhansk region, Serhiy Haidai, said on Telegram that Russia attacked a school in the city of Severodonetsk on Friday. He said the school was sheltering more than 200 people, many of them children.

The Donbas has been Putin's focus since his troops failed to take the capital, Kyiv, in the early days of the war.

Russia's defense minister said Friday, "The liberation of the Luhansk People's Republic is nearing completion."

Russian progress in the Donbas is slow and uneven and behind where Moscow wants it to be, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. Every day in the region, there are "hamlets, towns and villages that are changing hands" between Russia and Ukraine, he added.

The finance ministers of the Group of Seven nations have pledged $19.8 billion to support Ukraine's finances during Russia's invasion, a statement from the group said Friday.

The G-7, an organization of leaders from some of the world's largest economies — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the U.S. — said the funds would be used to help Ukraine "close its financing gap and continue ensuring the delivery of basic services to the Ukrainian people."

"While also addressing Ukraine's humanitarian and other material needs, we recognize, in particular, Ukraine's urgent short-term financing needs," the statement said, adding that the proposed $19.8 billion would come "in addition to recent announcements on further military and humanitarian support."

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate approved a new $40 billion aid package for Ukraine. The House of Representatives voted in favor of the package last week. U.S. President Joe Biden was expected to sign the measure promptly.

Zelenskyy called the aid package "a manifestation of strong leadership and a necessary contribution to our common defense of freedom."