Rappler's latest stories on Mariupol
In war-torn Ukraine, women get taste of combat training
Fifty women aged 18 to 40 – including a make-up artist, a veterinarian, and a housewife – signed up for the courses to learn gun handling basics and hand-to-hand combat
Ukraine says rebels attack near Mariupol, NATO deploys Baltics troops
UPDATED Meanwhile NATO forces prepared for a major exercise in the Baltics where Russia s involvement in the Ukraine war has jangled nerves
Ukraine's Mariupol holds its breath for next rebel move
While a fragile two week old ceasefire shows signs of holding Kiev says pro Russian separatists are using the truce to regroup their forces especially around Mariupol
Ukraine says pulling back arms as US, Russia trade barbs
The announcement of the pull back comes after a shaky truce that was meant to come into force February 15 finally took hold across the conflict zone in recent days
Fears for truce as attacking rebels mass near Ukraine port city
Continued hostilities meant a pull back of heavy weapons could not go ahead as agreed Ukrainian officials say
Obama ramps up pressure on Russia after deadly Ukraine blitz
Obama says he will now look at all options – short of military intervention – to restrain Russian President Vladimir Putin s alleged proxy war aimed at stripping Ukraine s pro Western leaders of their vital eastern industrial base
Poroshenko vows to deliver 'full victory' over pro-Russia rebels
Petro Poroshenko promises to be victorious over pro Russian rebels who have planned an offensive against the port of Mariupol
Rebel leader to launch assault on Ukraine's Mariupol
According to Russia s RIA Novosti Donetsk separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko says his group is launching an offensive against Mariupol
At least 10 killed in rocket attack on Ukraine's Mariupol
UPDATED The police says long range Grad rockets hit a market in an eastern district facing roads that have come under attack from separatist militias in recent days
Russia, Ukraine trade blame as fighting tests truce
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk called on world leaders not to trust Russian President Vladimir Putin despite his decision to sign Moscow up to a truce aimed at ending a five month war that has claimed more than 2 700 lives
Poroshenko: East Ukraine 'radically changed' since truce
He again vows that the separatist eastern regions where the rebels have declared their own republics would remain part of Ukraine
EU sanctions Russia despite new Putin-Poroshenko peace push
European leaders have been keen to ensure a halt to the fighting that has rattled financial markets and provoked a trade war with Russia damaging farmers and threatening the economic recoveries of leading EU nations such as Germany
Ukraine president says 1,200 captives held by rebels now free
Poroshenko: In the past 4 days we have managed to free 1 200 of our prisoners
Renewed fighting threatens Ukraine truce
Insurgent militias bombard a government held checkpoint on the eastern edge of the port city of Mariupol overnight local officials say killing one woman and triggering panic among terrified residents
Heavy fighting threatens Ukraine ceasefire
UPDATED Separatists insist they will not give up their ambitions for an independent state and weary local residents are doubtful the ceasefire will bring lasting peace
Ukraine and pro-Russia rebels agree ceasefire
Skeptical Western governments said they still planned to impose tough new sanctions on Moscow over what they claim is Russian aggression in the former Soviet state
Fighting in Ukraine's eastern hotpots despite truce talks
Mariupol is the latest flashpoint in the near 5 month conflict in eastern Ukraine as pro Russian rebels wage a counter offensive that has seen swathes of land seized from government forces in just a matter of days
Russia, NATO square off over Ukraine as Obama heads to Europe
Moscow s surprise declaration of a shift in its military doctrine comes ahead of a NATO summit in Wales at which beleaguered Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will lobby US President Barack Obama for military backing
Kiev warns of 'great war' with Russia as its forces retreat
The sense of foreboding in Kiev comes as European mediated talks over the fast escalating crisis opens behind closed doors in the Belarussian capital Minsk attended by government separatist and Russian envoys
Port city waits as Kiev loyalists prepare for battle
With pro Russian rebels threatening at the gates fighters loyal to Ukraine in the port city of Mariupol are having to face a hard truth: they will be unable to save this vital port city alone
