Russia continues barrage in southern Ukraine as civilians leave steel plant

People clean a residential area after a Russian air strike in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

Russian forces have kept up their barrage of southern Ukraine, hitting the major Black Sea port of Odesa with cruise missiles and bombarding the steelworks up the coast in Mariupol, where Ukrainian fighters remained trapped underground.

Moscow was aiming to complete its conquest of Mariupol in time for Victory Day celebrations on Monday, but its forces continued to face dogged resistance from defenders within the bunkers beneath the factory.