Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in the biggest battle of the war in Ukraine on Thursday, declaring the port city of Mariupol "liberated" after nearly two months of siege.

However, hundreds of fighters and civilians were still holed up inside huge steelworks. Putin ordered his troops to blockade the complex "so that not even a fly" could escape.

The US State Department said it understood Ukrainian forces still held ground in Mariupol and called Putin's claim...