The United States confirmed that Russian ships are shelling the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol

The US Department of Defense said Tuesday that Russian ships are bombing the city of Mariupol, in southeastern Ukraine, according to the data available to it.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby noted at a press conference that the United States has indications that Russian vessels in the Azov Sea are contributing to the assault of the port town of Mariupol by firing shells.

In parallel, “it is difficult for us to quantify it nor can we go into detail about the type of ammunition being used, but it is quite clear that in the last two days there has been an increase in Russian naval activity in the Black Sea,” he said.

On February 24, Russia began the invasion of Ukraine, which, for its part, is receiving military support from the United States, which is supplying it with military equipment to defend itself.

Mariupol is currently focusing attention on the war with Russia, on a siege that has been going on for days and which has the prospect of dragging on.

Some 400,000 people have been trapped in Mariupol for more than two weeks amid intense shelling that has cut off central electricity, heating and water supplies, according to local sources.

Russia urged Ukrainian forces on Sunday to surrender and abandon Mariupol “unarmed”, something Kiev called “delirium.”

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Tuesday that Mariupol's resistance, heavily bombed by the Russians days ago, is “saving” other cities, such as Dnipro, Kiev and Odessa, from the escalation of an offensive against them.

Mariupol residents will be able to leave the city on daily humanitarian corridors, according to the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Iryna Vereschuk, through her Telegram channel.

Vereschuk said in a video broadcast on that channel that “hard work is being done on the evacuation of the residents of Mariupol” and said that three routes will operate, which will go to the neighboring city of Zaporiyia, to the north.

The first route will depart from Berdyansk, the second from Mangush and the third from Yurivka, all in the vicinity of Mariupol.

“The evacuation will take place daily,” said the deputy prime minister, who further stated that the evacuation will continue until the entire population has been evacuated from the city.

“We understand that there are not enough seats for everyone, so come to the buses in an organized manner, according to the instructions of our local staff,” he recommended.

Meanwhile, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, a total of 21 buses and trucks with humanitarian aid left Zaporiyia en route to Mariupol.

For his part, the press secretary of the Russian regime, Dmitry Peskov, warned on Tuesday that his country is considering the possibility of using nuclear weapons if faced with a “threat existential”.

In an interview with the US channel CNN, Peskov replied that “if there is an existential threat, then it could be”, when asked under what circumstances the Kremlin would use its nuclear potential.

The possibility of unleashing a nuclear conflict that resulted in World War III is one of the most recurrent arguments of the US Government for refusing direct participation in the war in Ukraine.

Russia and the United States are the two countries with the largest nuclear arsenal, although seven other countries also have nuclear weapons: China, France, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea.

In his CNN interview, Peskov also acknowledged that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has not yet achieved” any of his military objectives in Ukraine, although he assured that the military operation in the Slavic country is taking place “in strict compliance with the plans and purposes set out in advance.”

With information from EFE

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