Today, Friday, battles and hit-and-run operations continued between the Russian and Ukrainian forces, especially in Mariupol, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv.

As the war entered its 59th day, voices calling for the neutralization of civilians and the provision of safe corridors for them are getting louder.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry confirmed the continuation of Russian air strikes on the city of Mariupol, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced control of two days ago.

In turn, an adviser to the Ukrainian president said that Russian forces are advancing in the direction of Zaporozhye and Izyum, and the Mariupol city council confirmed that the evacuation of civilians will begin on Saturday towards Zaporozhye.

The adviser said that Russian forces have resumed bombing the Azovstal complex - where Ukrainian forces are holed up - and trying to storm it, adding that Ukrainian forces repelled eight attacks on the eastern front.

The Russian forces are laying siege to the Azovstal Industrial Complex from all fronts, and are trying to extend their control over the entire Donbass region and southern Ukraine.

On the other hand, the pro-Russian Donetsk separatists said that their forces and Russian forces had surrounded the Azovstal complex completely and tightly, and that they were stationed in positions that prevent any attempt to leave the Ukrainian forces from the complex.


British intelligence

In this context, British military intelligence said that fierce battles are taking place in Mariupol, despite what it called the Russian forces' declared occupation of the strategic city in southeastern Ukraine.

She added that Moscow had not achieved significant gains during the past hours, despite the increase in its military activity, and that its forces did not control the air or sea.

British intelligence also confirmed that the Ukrainian air and sea defenses were impeding the progress of Russian forces.

The company, "Maxar", published satellite images that it said showed what appeared to be a mass grave in Vinohradny, a Russian-controlled village 13 kilometers east of Mariupol.

The pictures show trenches, each of which is about 40 meters long, that are expected to become burials for the dead.

A mass grave was discovered a day earlier near Mariupol, the second largest city in Ukraine's Donetsk region.

For its part, the Azov battalion of the Ukrainian army published pictures of civilians and children hiding in the basements of the Azovstal complex.

In the same regard, the Mariupol City Council announced that the evacuation of civilians will begin Saturday towards Zaporozhye.

The Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister also confirmed that an agreement had been reached to open a humanitarian corridor today, and said that the evacuation process would take place if everything went according to the agreement.


Kharkiv and Mykolaiv

In Kharkiv, in the northeast of the country, Al-Jazeera correspondent said that the city was subjected to Russian bombardment for the sixth consecutive day, adding that it had been subjected to artillery bombardment since this morning.

The Russian Defense Ministry also said that it had destroyed three helicopters on the ground in the Chuhuev region, southeast of Kharkiv, and also talked about the downing of a Ukrainian "Sukhoi-25" plane over the Kharkiv province.

The governor of the province announced that the Ukrainian forces launched a counter-attack on the positions of the Russian forces north of the city of Kharkiv and confirmed that they were able to regain control of the towns of Bezuki, Slatini and Brodyanka.

The spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, announced that the Russian artillery and missile forces had launched more than 1,000 strikes and destroyed three Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters in the Chuhuyev region near Kharkiv.

He pointed out that Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian Su-25 warplane in the province.

For its part, the Ukrainian Emergencies Authority published pictures that it said were of the effects of the Russian bombing on the logistics center of "Nova Poshta" for postal services near Kharkiv.

Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that heavy missile shelling with cruise missiles targeted the city of Odessa, southwest of Ukraine, and that several explosions were heard in the city, adding that the Ukrainian Air Force had dropped a cruise missile over the city.


Bombing in Mykolaiv

The city of Mykolaiv (central-south) was also subjected to Russian bombardment for the sixth consecutive day.

Al-Jazeera correspondent said that the missile shelling on an eastern neighborhood led to the destruction of a café and damage to residential buildings, without causing any casualties.

For its part, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Forces indicated that the Russian army is continuing its efforts to improve the conditions on the ground for advancing in the city.

She reiterated that the Russian army continues to try to control the administrative borders of the Kherson region, south of Mykolaiv, and continues to bombard the northern countryside of the region.