His forces will continue fighting in Mariupol, despite the threat from Moscow, which ordered him to lay down his arms.
The Ukrainian Army will continue fighting in Mariúpol, despite the threat from Moscow, which ordered it to lay down its arms with the promise that “they are guaranteed that their lives will be respected,” according to the Defense Ministry in a statement this early morning. The seven-hour ultimatum ended at noon Moscow time.
In that text, the military department stressed that the Ukrainian soldiers surrounded at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol “were offered to voluntarily lay down their arms and surrender to save their lives.” “However, the nationalist regime in kyiv, according to radio interception, forbade negotiations for surrender.” Likewise, the same sources specified that, according to the Ukrainian soldiers who had previously surrendered, “there are up to 400 foreign mercenaries who joined the Ukrainian forces trapped in the plant, including Europeans and Canadians.” “In case of greater resistance, all of them will be eliminated,” he warned.
Meanwhile, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol has rejected the Russian ultimatum. Petro Andriushenko said on Telegram that “to this day, our soldiers continue to maintain the defense.” Odessa MP Oleksiy Goncharenko has assured the BBC that the soldiers in Mariupol are not going to surrender. “I spoke with them yesterday – for Saturday – and I know they are going to fight to the end,” CNN reports.
Moscow assured hours before that it had practically taken control of Mariúpol, a key piece in the Kremlin’s strategy, reports Reuters. However, this assertion could not be independently verified. According to Defense, its troops have cleared the urban area of Mariupol and only a small nucleus of Ukrainian fighters resisted on Saturday.
“The situation is very difficult” in Mariupol, President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Ukrainska Pravda news portal. “Our soldiers are surrounded, the wounded are blocked. There is a humanitarian crisis… However, the boys are defending themselves».
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