Ukraine’s Foreign Minister: There have been no high-level diplomatic contacts between Russia and Ukraine recently

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba – Photo: REUTERS

“Mariupol can be a red line,” Kuleba told CBS News in an interview on April 17.

Ukrainian soldiers in the port city of Mariupol resisted Russia’s ultimatum to lay down their arms and surrender.

According to Reuters news agency, the Russian side said that its forces had almost completely occupied the city, after nearly two months of launching a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that the troops in Mariupol were still fighting, despite Russia’s request to surrender.

“We haven’t really had any contact with Russian diplomats in recent weeks at the foreign ministry level,” Kuleba said.

Ukraine’s foreign minister also said: “The only level of contact is the negotiating team consisting of representatives of different organizations and members of parliament. They continue to consult at the expert level but there are no negotiations. what high-level takes place”.

Mr. Kuleba predicted “fierce fighting will intensify in eastern Ukraine” in the coming weeks.

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 received a number of Ukrainian phone calls and received information that Kiev “bans 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. .