Fierce fighting under way in Mariupol’s Azovstal plant, says Azov commander

Leader of Ukrainian forces says they are engaged in difficult bloody battles' against Russian troops, as another 344 civilians are evacuated

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Fierce fighting has continued inside Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks, the commander of Ukrainian forces in the plant said, as more civilians fled the city on evacuation buses following weeks of brutal bombardment that have reduced much of it to rubble.

Ukrainian forces were fighting difficult bloody battles" against Russian troops for a second day, Denys Prokopenko, commander of the Azov regiment, said in a brief video released on Telegram late on Wednesday.