Commander says forces in Mariupol may only have a few hours left

A Ukrainian marine commander gave a somber warning to the world about the state of his forces in the besieged port city of Mariupol, saying they “may have only a few days or hours left.”

“The enemy units are dozens of times larger than ours, they have dominance in the air, in artillery, in ground troops, in equipment and in tanks,” Serhiy Volyna, commander of Ukraine’s 36th Separate Marine Brigade, said in a video message, Reuters reported.

The news service noted that the video, which was posted on Telegram, could not be verified independently.  

Ukrainian forces are still defending the Azovstal steel plant, though the commander warned in his video message that the “enemy is outnumbering us 10 to one,” according to France 24. Ukrainian forces have been given an ultimatum by Russian troops to surrender on Wednesday. 

The development comes as Russian forces regroup for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine after failed attempts to capture Kyiv.

A European official predicted on Tuesday that Russia would seize control of Mariupol within the coming days and warned of the devastation that would be discovered, saying “we do expect a complete destruction of the city and many civilian casualties in Mariupol.”

The official said they were concerned the situation would be worse than what occurred in Bucha, one of the most well-documented sites of destruction and devastation in Ukraine.