The Russian military claimed that it launched strikes on 32 military targets in Ukraine during the night.

The spokesman for the Russian Defence Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, announced on Tuesday.

He explained that a Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile system and an ammunition depot, and an aircraft hangar with Ukrainian air force technology were destroyed, among other targets.

“The remnants of the Ukrainian armed forces trapped on the territory of the Ilyich plant [iron and steel works] made an unsuccessful attempt to break out of the city,” said Mr Konashenkov. 

He disclosed that about 100 Ukrainian soldiers attempted to break out; half were killed. This information was initially not independently verifiable.

The Russian military had previously reported on the extensive capture of Mariupol. The remaining Ukrainian forces were entrenched in another steel plant in Azovstal.

Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the pro-Russian separatists, suggested on Monday that the Ukrainians there, especially members of the nationalist Azov regiment, should be “smoked out” with chemical weapons.

The Azov regiment then reported that poison gas had been used, but the official Ukrainian side has not yet confirmed this. 

(dpa/NAN)