Mariupol mayor says Russian forces attempting to ‘blockade’ Ukraine port city

Russian troops are seeking to lay siege to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, seeking to cut it off from electricity, water, heating and transportation, its mayor said Thursday.

“They are trying to create a blockade here, just like in Leningrad,” Vadym Boichenko said in a statement referring to the horrific siege of Russia’s second largest city by the Nazis during World War II, which left hundreds of thousands dead.