Kyiv: Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

– 100, 000 trapped in Mariupol –

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says almost 100, 000 people are still trapped in the ruins of Mariupol, though over 7, 000 escaped on Tuesday.

Human Rights Watch describes the southern city as a “freezing hellscape riddled with dead bodies and destroyed buildings”.

– Ukraine forces on offensive –

For the first time, there are signs that Ukrainian forces are going on the offensive, retaking a town near Kyiv and attacking Russian forces in the south of the country.

“We’re definitely seeing anecdotal evidence… that the Ukrainians are not only defending well, where they choose to defend, but they are making efforts to take back territory, ” a senior US defence official tells journalists.

– Russian army ‘struggling’ –

The Pentagon believes as much as 10 percent of Russian forces committed to Ukraine may have been knocked out in just four weeks of fighting, a senior US defence official says.

The Pentagon says Russian forces “have struggled with logistics and sustainment.”

“We think they’re having command and control problems, ” adds Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.