Ukrainian commander in Mariupol pleads for help: "We are probably facing our last days, if not hours"

Ukraine said a preliminary agreement was reached to establish a humanitarian corridor and evacuate thousands of people from the besieged coastal city of Mariupol on Wednesday, as Russia hurled its military might against Ukrainian cities and towns in an attempt to slice the country in two and gain control of the eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories.

The fighting unfolded along a boomerang-shaped front of hundreds of miles in what is known as the eastern Donbas region. If successful, Russian President Vladimir Putin would be able to claim a victory following his failed attempt to storm the capital, Kyiv, and heavier-than-expected Russian casualties.