U.S. President Joe Biden has approved $800 million in new military assistance for Ukraine to help the country in its fight against Russia's invasion, including helicopters, artillery, ammunition, and other weapons.
Biden announced the new package of aid on April 13 after a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and after Russia's Defense Ministry said that more than 1,000 Ukrainian marines had surrendered in Mariupol.
"This new package of assistance will contain many of the highly effective weapons systems we have already provided and new capabilities tailored to the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine," Biden said in a statement.
The United States will also continue to facilitate the transfer of weapons from allies and partners around the world, Biden said, adding that the supply of weapons from the United States and other countries has been critical in sustaining Ukraine's fight against the Russian invasion.
France and Germany also pledged to send more weapons in response to Zelenskiy's pleas for more military aid from Western countries.
Russia said that, in addition to the surrender of the Ukrainian marines in Mariupol, it had taken control of the port. Ukrainian officials said they could neither comment on nor confirm the surrender of the marines
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If verified, the surrender would be major blow to Ukrainian efforts to hold Mariupol, which has been the site of brutal, street-to-street fighting since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Petro Andryushchenko, an aide to the mayor of Mariupol, said Russia's claims about control of of the port were exaggerated. Ukrainian armed forces control "most of the city -- especially in terms of area," Andryushchenko told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.
He called Russia's claim that it controls more than 80 percent of Mariupol "a very, very big exaggeration."
The Ukrainian military's General Staff said Russian forces were attacking the Azovstal industrial district and the port, but a Defense Ministry spokesman said he had no information about any surrender.
"Russian forces are increasing their activities on the southern and eastern fronts, attempting to avenge their defeats," Zelenskiy said late on April 13 in a video address.
With convoys of Russian equipment moving in multiple directions toward the eastern Donbas region ahead of an expected offensive there, a top Ukrainian official said there would be no humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians in several locations on April 13.
In a statement on Telegram, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk accused Russian troops of not adhering to the terms of agreements reached to allow the evacuations.
"In the Zaporizhzhya region, the [Russians] blocked evacuation buses, and in the Luhansk region, they are violating the cease-fire," she said.
In Mariupol, Russian state TV on April 13 showed video of troops marching with their hands up that it said were Ukrainian marines who had surrendered. Similar video footage was circulating on the social media accounts of pro-Kremlin bloggers. The videos could not be independently verified.
"In the city of Mariupol...1,026 Ukrainian servicemen of the 36th Marine Brigade voluntarily laid down their arms and surrendered," the Russian Defense Ministry said earlier.
Vadym Denysenko, an aide to the Ukrainian interior minister, rejected the Russian claim, telling Current Time that it hadn't been confirmed by the Ukrainian military.
Oleksiy Arestovych, another aide to Zelenskiy, posted a contradictory statement on Facebook, claiming instead that the 36th Marine Brigade had broken fighting lines and had joined units from the Azov Battalion, another military unit that has been battling to defend the city.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the surrender occurred at the Illych Iron and Steel Works, and that 151 wounded troops were treated on the spot and taken to Mariupol's city hospital.
Earlier on April 13, Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen strongman whose soldiers have been at the vanguard of the assault on Mariupol, also said that more than 1,000 Ukrainian marines had surrendered.
Kadyrov, an ardent supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, urged remaining Ukrainians in the Azovstal industrial district of Mariupol to surrender.
"Within Azovstal at the moment there are about 200 wounded who cannot receive any medical assistance," Kadyrov said on Telegram. "For them and all the rest it would be better to end this pointless resistance and go home to their families."
Mariupol has also been the site of alleged chemical weapons use, something that international experts voiced concern about.
In his nightly address on April 12, Zelenskiy highlighted the unconfirmed reports, saying that while experts try to determine what the substance might be, "the world must react now."
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said it was possible phosphorus weapons -- which are not classified as chemical weapons -- had been used in Mariupol.
The presidents of Poland and all three Baltic states visited the Ukrainian town of Borodyanka, northwest of Kyiv, in a show of support for the country.
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Rescuers Sift Through Debris For Bodies In Borodyanka
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the town was "permeated with pain and suffering" after civilians were murdered and tortured there and residential homes and other civilian infrastructure were bombed.
"It is hard to believe that such war atrocities could be perpetrated in 21st-century Europe, but that is the reality. This is a war we must win," Nauseda said in a statement.
The goal of the visit was to show support for Zelenskiy "and the defenders of Ukraine in a decisive moment for this country," Polish presidential adviser Jakub Kumoch said in a statement.
The visit came a day after Putin vowed to continue his bloody offensive.
All four countries worry they may face Russian attack in the future if Ukraine falls.