Putin says no need to storm Mariupol steel plant where Ukrainians holed up

President Vladimir Putin today ordered the Russian military to cancel plans to storm the Azovstal steel plant inside the port city of Mariupol, where thousands of Ukrainian defenders and civilians are holed up.

Effectively declaring victory in the city after nearly two months of siege, Putin said there was no point in trying to root out the defenders barricaded inside the sprawling factory.

"I consider the proposed storming of the...