Chechen forces claim 'victory over Mariupol' as Ukrainians inside Azovstal keep up the fight

The Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov claims Chechen and Russian forces 'special operation to cleanse and destroy Mariupol has been completed.'

The Chechen fighter posted footage of himself and his fighters on Friday, posing in front of a burnt-out administrative building near Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant, the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces and civilians in the city.

On Thursday, the Kremlin released video of a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Defence Secretary Sergei Shoigu, during which the Russian leader claimed control of the whole city of Mariupol.

Yet, Ukrainian forces are still holding out in the city’s Azovstal steelworks having resisted for a month in the city where some of the most brutal attacks have occurred.

In a passionate statement, given while explosions could be heard in the background, Samoilenko, a soldier from the Azov Battalion, says the port city is "not yet dominated", denying Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claims that his troops control all of the city except for the steelworks, which they are blockading.

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