On footage Ukrainian soldiers repulse attack of Russian invaders in battle for Mariupol.

Southern front
Further information: Siege of Mariupol, 2022 bombing of Odesa, Battle of Kherson, and Battle of Enerhodar
See also: Russian occupation of Kherson Oblast and Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast
A destroyed Russian BMP-3 near Mariupol, 7 March
On 24 February, Russian forces took control of the North Crimean Canal, allowing Crimea to obtain water from the Dnieper, cut off since 2014. On 26 February, the siege of Mariupol began as the attack moved east linking to separatist-held Donbas. En route, Russian forces entered Berdiansk and captured it. On 1 March, Russian forces attacked Melitopol and nearby cities.On 25 February, Russian units from the DPR moves on Mariupol and were defeated near Pavlopil.[168][169][170] By evening, the Russian Navy reportedly began an amphibious assault on the coast of the Sea of Azov 70 kilometres (43 mi) west of Mariupol. A US defence official said that Russian forces might be deploying thousands of marines from this beachhead.
The Russian 22nd Army Corps approached the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on 26 Februaryand besieged Enerhodar to take control of it. A fire began,but the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) subsequently said that essential equipment was undamaged. The nuclear power plant fell under Russian control but despite the fires, it recorded no radiation leaks. A third Russian attack group from Crimea moved northwest and captured bridges over the Dnieper. On 2 March, Russian troops won a battle at Kherson the first major city to fall to Russian forces in the invasion. Russian troops moved on Mykolaiv and attacked it two days later, but were repelled by Ukrainian forces.Also on 2 March, Ukrainian forces initiated a counter-offensive on Horlivka,controlled by the DPR since 2014
After renewed missile attacks on 14 March in Mariupol, the Ukrainian government said more than 2,500 had died. By 18 March, Mariupol was completely encircled and fighting reached the city centre, hampering efforts to evacuate civilians. On 20 March, an art school sheltering around 400 people, was destroyed by Russian bombs.The Russians demanded surrender, and the Ukrainians refused. On 24 March, Russian forces entered central Mariupol. On 27 March, Ukrainian deputy prime minister Olha Stefanishyna said that "(m)ore than 85 percent of the whole town is destroyed."

Putin told Emmanuel Macron in a phone call on 29 March that the bombardment of Mariupol would only end when the Ukrainians surrendered.[190] On 1 April Russian troops refused safe passage into Mariupol to 50 buses sent by the United Nations to evacuate civilians, as peace talks continued in Istanbul. On 3 April, following the retreat of Russian forces from Kyiv, Russia expanded its attack on Southern Ukraine further west, with bombardment and strikes against Odesa, Mykolaiv, and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant