Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that he is committed to pressing for peace despite Russian attacks on civilians that have stunned the world, and he renewed his plea for countries to send more weapons ahead of an expected surge in fighting in the country's east.

Associated Press video journalist Mstyslav Chernov and photographer Evgeniy Maloletka arrived in Mariupol, Ukraine, in the early hours of Feb. 24. An hour later, Russia's war on its neighbour started. Chernov recounts what he and his colleague witnessed and how they escaped from the city as Russians were hunting them down.

Government and Russian-backed separatist forces face off in daily gun and artillery battles across an unseen line cutting through the town of Shyrokyne, Ukraine. The enduring unrest arouses deep anxieties that the conflict could flare up again across the entire 450-kilometre front line.