Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj says the siege of Mariupol will go down in history for what he calls war crimes by Russia's military.

- To do this against a peaceful city, what the occupiers are doing, is terror that will be remembered for centuries to come, he said according to the AP early on Sunday in his nightly speech to the nation.

Negotiations not pleasant

Zelenskyj further says that the ongoing negotiations with Russia "are not simple or pleasant, but necessary".

He says that on Saturday he had discussed how things are going in the talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.

- Ukraine has always strived for a peaceful solution.

Zelensky also accuses Russia of failing to bring home its fallen soldiers.

- In places where there have been particularly fierce battles, the bodies of the Russian soldiers remain in large numbers along our line of defense.

And no one picks up these bodies, he says.

Brought to Russia

Mariupol City Council says in a statement that Ukrainians against their will have been taken to Russia, several media reports.

"During the past week, several thousand Mariupol residents have been taken to Russian territory," it says in a post from the mayor of Telegram.

According to the post, the Ukrainians have been deprived of their phones and some of them have been taken to distant cities in Russia.

The information has not been confirmed.

The British Ministry of Defense says in its latest update on Twitter that Russia has not managed to take control of Ukrainian airspace, something that is considered to have been one of the Russians' main goals at the beginning of the war.

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The drone images show the devastation after the attacks on Mariupol.

Photo: Reuters