Russian forces have surrounded the city on the Sea of Azov, but Ukrainian military personnel are still fighting the invaders, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said.

Russian forces have heavily shelled the Ukrainian city, and news footage from Mariupol shows an area devastated by aerial and artillery fire. “But our assessment is that the Ukrainians are still fighting for it”, - he said.

The city is in a strategic location just south of the Donbas area of Ukraine and has an excellent port on the Sea of Azov - an arm of the Black Sea. Mariupol would provide the Russians “unfettered and unhindered land access between the Donbas and Crimea”, Kirby said.

The Russians say the region is Russian, but the area also has great significance to the Ukrainian people. Mariupol is a key to Ukraine’s economic life. It is their city, and it’s part of their country, and they haven’t given up on it. And we’re not giving up on them, either.

[Ukrainians] continue to fight bravely for their country. We continue to try to support their efforts to do that through truly an unprecedented level of speed, and that’s what we’re going to focus on”, - Kirby said.