The Ukrainian presidency announced that an "operation" was planned to evacuate civilians holed up in the Azovstal industrial complex besieged by Russian forces in Mariupol, in southeastern Ukraine, on Friday.
According to Kyiv, hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, including dozens of children, are holed up in the huge Azovstal steel complex in Mariupol, with the last Ukrainian fighters in the city.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said after meeting Zelensky in Kyiv on Thursday that intense discussions were underway to allow the evacuation of the Azovstal steel plant bombed by Russian forces occupying Mariupol.
The "Azov Brigade" had published clips that it said were filmed immediately after the Russian forces bombed the field military hospital, located on the territory of the Azovstal factory.
"Azov" reported that the Russian forces threw heavy bombs capable of penetrating any concrete defensive structures at the hospital, and continued to bombard the ruins mercilessly, as it described it.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed "in principle" to the participation of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross in the evacuation of the Azovstal plant.
Mariupol city council said about 100,000 residents were at "risk of death" due to Russian bombing and unsanitary conditions, adding that there was a "catastrophic" shortage of drinking water and food.
Russian missile strikes targeted the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Thursday evening, during Guterres' visit to the city.
Al-Jazeera correspondent Hassan Masoud said that a Russian strike targeted buildings located west of Kyiv, near a complex that includes companies for the defense and aviation industries.
fierce battles
For his part, the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said that the "enemy" bombed Kyiv in the evening, and carried out "two strikes on the Shevchenkovsky district, on the lower floors of an apartment building."
And the Ukrainian Emergency Service announced that 10 people were injured as a result of the bombing, and a fire that broke out in a 25-storey apartment building was put out.
She added that the bombing led to the partial destruction of the first and second floors.
Russian media published pictures, which they said were of the bombing of the positions and fortifications of the Ukrainian army in the town of "Marinka", adjacent to Donetsk.
The pictures show a large number of shells falling on the outskirts of the town, southwest of Donetsk.
The region is witnessing violent battles, as the separatists, with the support of Russian forces, are trying to advance in "Marinka", where the Ukrainian forces are located, on the outskirts of their most prominent stronghold in the Donbass region.
In a parallel context, the British Ministry of Defense said today, Friday, that the Battle of Donbass remains the focus of Russia's strategic focus in the Ukraine war in order to achieve its stated goal of securing control of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
"In the two regions, fighting was particularly intense around Lysichansk and Severodonetsk, with an attempt to advance south from Izyum towards Sloviansk," the ministry said on Twitter.
She said in a regular briefing that Russia's gains on the ground are limited and cost the Russian forces great losses due to the strong Ukrainian resistance.
slow progress
US media also quoted a Pentagon official as saying that Russian forces are making slow progress in Donbass, and that most of the Russian bombing is focused on Mariupol and Donbass.
The official added that what is expected is a slowdown in the progress of Russian forces in Donbass due to weather conditions.
He explained that the Pentagon believes that a section of the Russian forces is leaving Mariupol towards Zaporizhia.
He pointed out that more than 60% of the howitzers included in the American aid were delivered to the Ukrainian forces.
He revealed the start of training Ukrainian advisers outside Ukraine to use the Q64 radar systems provided by the United States.
For its part, the British newspaper "The Independent" revealed that Britain will send 8,000 soldiers to countries in eastern Europe to participate in military exercises there, describing this step as historic.