INTERNATIONAL: A Ukrainian marine commander in the besieged city of Mariupol said his troops may be able to hold out for only a few hours longer as Ukraine tried to evacuate 6,000 women, children and elderly people on Wednesday 20th April.

In a video posted online on Wednesday, Serhiy Volyna, commander of Ukraine's 36th marine brigade which is still fighting in Mariupol, urged the international community to help evacuate wounded Ukrainian fighters and their families.

“This is our appeal to the world. This could be the last appeal of our lives. We are probably facing our last days, if not hours. The enemy is outnumbering us 10 to 1. They have advantage in the air, in artillery, in their forces on land, in equipment and in tanks. We are only defending one object, the Azovstal plant where in addition to military personnel, there are also civilians who have fallen victim to this war. We appeal and plead to all world leaders to help us. We ask them to use the procedure of ‘extraction’ and take us to the territory of a third party state. All of us – Mariupol military battalion of soldiers, more than 500 wounded, and hundreds of civilians including women and children, we plead to take us to safety on the territory of a third party state. Thank you.” Russian Commander pleading for help

Reuters could not independently verify the video posted on the Telegram messaging app.

A Russian ultimatum to Ukrainian troops in Mariupol to surrender or die expired on Wednesday afternoon with no mass capitulation.

Russia denies intentionally targeting civilians. There was no immediate word from Moscow on whether a humanitarian corridor would be established out of Mariupol.

Civilians have been able to escape to other parts of Ukraine only in their own vehicles, while tens of thousands have been bussed to Russia in what Moscow calls humanitarian evacuation and Kyiv calls illegal forced deportation.