A curtain of smoke rises over Mariupol as the besieged city wraps itself under another relentless bombing.
Today, the victims of the indiscriminate shelling included a teenager playing football with his friends. He died before reaching the hospital, his father weeping over his broken body.
Mariupol, a key Russian target for its port and location on the Sea of Azov, was surrounded by Russian troops last night and shelled by shells that destroyed property and cut off electricity and water supplies.
They feared hundreds were killed in the battle, and a local official accused the Russians of wiping the city from the face of the earth.
Its capture will allow Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine to join forces with troops in Crimea, the peninsula forcibly annexed by Russia in 2014.
Sergei, father of teenage Elijah, cries over his son’s lifeless body lying on a stretcher in a maternity hospital turned into a medical ward in Mariupol, Ukraine
Families now face food shortages after five days of constant shelling as they tremble in dark homes left without electricity and heat.
Elijah, 15, was playing football with two friends when they were hit by Russian shelling. David and Artyom, also 15, were found with their legs shredded by shrapnel – and now face the prospect of amputation.
The trio were taken from a makeshift football field near a school at the nearest hospital, but Elijah was dead on arrival and his legs were broken.
As his father, Sergei, hugged his blond boy, he wept uncontrollably. “My little son,” he shouted.
Today, Mariupol Mayor Vadim Boychenko described the attack on his city as a “full-scale genocide of the Ukrainian people.”
Without power lines, the medics caring for the wounded did not know where to take them.
The deputy mayor of Mariupol said: “Residential areas are heavily bombed. The situation is terrible, we are close to a humanitarian catastrophe. We were under more than 15 hours of continuous shelling without a break.
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In a series of increasingly insane reports today, Mr Boychenko said that although Russian officials had reportedly called for civilians to evacuate to avoid further bloodshed, rail links had been destroyed to prevent no one to leave.
He then pleaded for a ceasefire so that power could be restored in the city. But the bombing continued.
Pyotr Andryushchenko, an aide to the mayor, said the Russians were using their entire arsenal of weapons in a series of deadly attacks, including missile systems to launch the City and its air force.
He added that Russia’s victory would be seen as symbolic, as Mariupol opposed pro-Russian separatists when the nearby Donbass region was taken over eight years ago.
“It’s a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance, so they just want to turn it into a pile of ashes,” he said.
“This is not a military operation – they are trying to wipe this city off the face of the earth.”
His boss, Mr. Boychenko, compared the tactics to the siege of Leningrad – now St. Petersburg – during World War II, when up to 650,000 people were trapped by the Nazi blockade. “The invaders are systematically and methodically trying to block the city of Mariupol,” he said.
The British Sean Pinear, who previously served in the Royal English Regiment, was today on the front line in Mariupol with Ukrainian soldiers.
The 48-year-old former soldier informed his friends and family on Facebook about the situation on the ground, but warned yesterday that his route to the world outside the Ukrainian port city could soon be interrupted.
He said: “These may be my last posts in a while. Sirens are ringing. The constant shelling from Grad and artillery is relentless. They bomb indiscriminately in all directions. Russian planes fly freely over Mariupol.
“We hear the afterburners at night.” [on the jet’s engines] and to see them, as I can only describe, as Christmas lights with the devastating sound of death.
He added that despite the terrible conditions, the soldiers are doing everything possible to keep their spirits up.
Mr. Piner emigrated to Mariupol a few years ago to join forces and now has a Ukrainian wife.
“I watched the boys try to stay alone for the last few hours,” he added. “Talking on the phone, watching videos and sending messages to the family.”
He said a soldier next to him had developed a trench step, a serious condition caused by constantly wet feet, which was a common occurrence on the Western Front during the First World War.
He added: “Understand, we withdrew, fought and withdrew without a break.
“Sleep is not really a dream. Short naps for maybe 20 or 30 minutes, always alert for the city, artillery or traffic orders. We still fight, we still survive.
Those trapped in Mariupol yesterday faced fewer and fewer chances of surviving such a protracted attack.
The 27-year-old IT developer Maxim Skorobohach was hiding in the corridor of his grandparents’ apartment building, along with the terrified retirees, who are about 80 years old.
“Food and medicine are not moving in Mariupol at the moment,” he told the BBC. “The local government tried to give bread and water, but it was not there. I filled the tub with water before the water stopped. We have about five liters left.
Alexander, a 44-year-old engineer, said he was living with his wife, two sons and his mother in a five-story building. “We have been bombed and shelled for five days and right now I hear shots and bombs without interruption,” he said.
As darkness fell yesterday, authorities insisted that Mariupol remain under Ukrainian control, but it seems unlikely that the city under siege will last long.