President Vladimir says Russian troops have ‘liberated’ Mariupol and will impose a tight blockade on the holed-up Ukrainian soldiers in the city.

Here are Press TV's latest top stories at 1000 GMT, April 20, 2022.

Russia has given the Ukrainian soldiers still holding out in the strategic southern port city of Mariupol a new ultimatum to surrender, as Moscow pushes a new military offensive in Ukraine's east.

“The city still has not fallen. There're still our military forces, our soldiers. So they will fight to the end,” Denys Shmyhal stated.

Russia has said Ukrainian soldiers have until Sunday to lay down arms and surrender in the southern city of Mariupol as the city has been under siege for weeks.

Russia says it had cleared the urban areas of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol of the presence of Ukrainian forces.

The administration of US President Joe Biden is reportedly expected to authorize the transfer of $750 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, which is under Russian military strikes.

Clashes have escalated between Russian troops and Ukrainian forces over the control of the besieged port city of Mariupol as Russia’s military offensive in the former Soviet state nears its 50th day and amid Western promises to flood the war-battered country with military and financial aid.

Russia has renewed its warning against further expansion of the NATO military alliance, saying the alliance remains “a tool of confrontation”.

Russia has announced a local ceasefire to allow civilians to be evacuated from Ukraine's besieged port city of Mariupol, calling on Kiev to respect the truce, as the conflict between the neighbors rages on.