Moscow, April 21 (TIWN): Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered a blockade of the Azovstal plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol instead of storming it, local media reported.

The order was given after Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin that the Russian military had controlled Mariupol apart from the plant where Ukrainian servicemen were still holed up, Xinhua news agency quoted the local media as saying.

The last Ukrainian fighters are sheltering in the city’s huge steel plant, reportedly with around 1,000 civilians living in dire conditions.