Live updates: Russia invades Ukraine, resistance continues in ...

Meanwhile, the Security Service of Ukraine released a purported communications intercept of a Russian ground unit commander, who said Russian aircraft were planning to “level everything to the ground” around the factory.Mariupol, situated in the southeast of Ukraine, has been heavily targeted by Russian forces during the war due to its strategic position on the coast of the Sea of Azov.Taking it would allow Russia to create a continuous land bridge from Donbas to Crimea, the peninsula it illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.Speaking to CNN last week, Zelensky said nobody knows how many civilians have died in Mariupol."Several thousand, tens of thousands, were forced to evacuate in the direction of the Russia Federation and we don't know where they are, they've left no document trail," he said.Read more about the Azovstal plant here:Fighting in the Donbas region continues to escalate, with Ukrainian forces repelling "numerous attempted advances" by Russia, according to UK defense intelligence.The battle for the Donbas represents a new and potentially decisive phase in the conflict, with the besieged southeastern port city of Mariupol a key battleground.Referenced as a "critical logistics hub" for Ukrainian forces, Mariupol continues to be in Ukrainian control despite weeks of Russian bombardment, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the situation remains "brutal and unchanged."With tens of thousands of civilians remaining in Mariupol, the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister said Wednesday that a corridor had been agreed on with Russia for the evacuation of women, children and the elderly from the city.Here are the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict:From CNN's Nathan Hodge in LvivA humanitarian corridor had been agreed on with Russia for the evacuation of women, children and the elderly from the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. The unelected mayor has since instituted a number of pro-Russian moves, including mandating the broadcasting of Russian news outlets.City workers and Russian troops also staged a propaganda stunt in which they took down the Ukrainian flag, signed it, and claimed they were sending it to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.Analysis from CNN's Maeve RestonPresident Joe Biden's visit to the critical swing state of New Hampshire to sell his domestic agenda was overshadowed by new economic warning signs of how Russia's invasion of Ukraine is creating greater uncertainty and volatility in the world economy, compounding the obstacles the President and his party are facing in November.This time last year, Democratic strategists had hoped Biden and his Democratic colleagues in Congress would be out on the campaign trail this spring pointing to America's roaring comeback after the dark days of the Covid-19 pandemic.Instead, Biden and many vulnerable Democrats are gingerly trying to maneuver around inflation that is at a 40-year high, the threat that new Covid-19 variants could derail the recovery — amid fresh confusion over masking — and the ripple effects of a war in Ukraine that some western officials now believe may stretch until the end of the year.Read the full analysis: From CNN’s Mitchell McCluskeyGerman manufacturer Henkel will cease operations in Russia, the company announced on Tuesday.