Russia says Ukraine ignored ultimatum calling for surrender, Ukraine says Mariupol ‘has not fallen’

The ruined street of the city of Mariupol, Ukraine – Photo: REUTERS

According to CNN, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian soldiers besieged at Mariupol’s Azovstal factory “have been offered to voluntarily lay down their arms and surrender in exchange for their lives”.

The Russian side said it had received a number of phone calls from Ukraine and received information that Kiev “banned negotiations on surrender”.

The Russian Defense Ministry also confirmed that, according to Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered earlier, “up to 400 foreign mercenaries who joined Ukrainian forces” were trapped at Azovstal, including Europeans and Canadians. .

“In case of further resistance, all will be eliminated,” the Russian side said.

Earlier on the same day, advisor Petro Andriushchenko to the mayor of Mariupol rejected Russia’s ultimatum.

Writing on Telegram, Mr. Andriushchenko stated: “As of today, our defenders continue to organize defensively.”

Mariupol, a city in the Donestk region, has been under siege for more than a month, with heavy casualties and much of the infrastructure destroyed by shelling.

On April 12, the military governor of Donetsk said about 22,000 people may have died in the city.

According to CNN, an estimated 100,000 people remain in Mariupol and surrounding areas, with the majority under Russian control.

Some Ukrainian troops are believed to be still holding out at Mariupol, but the exact number is unknown.

According to Russian media, most of Ukraine’s entrenched forces are concentrated at the Azovstal factory. It is one of the largest steel mills in Europe, with an intricate network of rails and furnaces.

However, Andriushchenko said that resistance to Russian troops in the city continued outside the factory.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told ABC radio that the remaining Ukrainian forces in Mariupol were still fighting, despite an ultimatum calling for surrender from the Russian side.

“The city has not fallen yet,” Shmyhal said, adding that Ukrainian troops continued to control some parts of the city.

Shmyhal also announced that he would attend meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) this week to seek more financial support for Ukraine.