Russia says its forces clear most of Mariupol, strike Kyiv suburb

FILE PHOTO: Graves of Ukrainian soldiers killed during Joint Forces Operation in the country's eastern regions are seen damaged, as local orthodox priest says, by a shell of Russian tank, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, at a cemetery in Chernihiv, Ukraine April 6, 2022. REUTERS/Serhii Nuzhnenko

KYIV/LVIV/MARIUPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) -Russia said its troops had cleared the urban area of Mariupol and only a small contingent of Ukrainian fighters remained inside a steelworks in the besieged southern port on Saturday, as missile strikes hit Ukraine's capital Kyiv and other cities.

Moscow's claim to have all but taken control of Mariupol, scene of the war's heaviest fighting and worst humanitarian catastrophe, could not be independently verified. It would be the first major city to have fallen to Russian forces since the Feb. 24 invasion.