Ukrainian officials spoke out after Russia issued an ultimatum, asking Ukrainian forces to lay down their weapons in the port city of Mariupol.
"There has not been any surrender or disarming. We have informed the Russian side about this. Instead of wasting time on eight pages of letters, just open a humanitarian corridor," Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine said. Iryna Vereshchuk announced on March 21.
Mariupol city council also rejected Russia's "ultimatum". "They gave Ukraine time until morning to respond. But why wait so long?", the city council's Facebook statement said.
The statement by Ukrainian officials came after Colonel Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian Defense Control Center, called on the Ukrainian armed forces in the city of Mariupol to "lay down their arms".
"Humanitarian disaster is taking place. All those who drop their weapons are guaranteed to leave Mariupol safely," Mr. Mizintsev said.
Mizintsev announced that humanitarian corridors for civilians leaving Mariupol will open in the east and west directions at 10:00 am on March 21, Moscow time. Mizintsev also said that by 5 am on March 21, Ukrainian forces must respond to Russia's request for humanitarian corridors and to lay down arms in Mariupol.
According to Reuters news agency, the eastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol has suffered the heaviest shelling since Russia launched a military operation on February 24, including an attack on a maternity ward and bombings. a theater and an art school.
It is not possible to fully estimate the damage caused by the fighting in Mariupol as rescuers are still working. Of Mariupol's 400,000 residents, many are still trapped without food, water and electricity.
Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for failing to open humanitarian corridors in recent weeks. The Russian army over the weekend continued to push deeper into Mariupol, while the Ukrainian armed forces were still trying to resist and hold positions in the city.
Mizintsev said Russia did not use heavy weapons in Mariupol. He confirmed that Russia had evacuated 59,304 people from the city, but 130,000 civilians were still being held "hostages". He also said 330,686 people have been evacuated from Ukraine by Russia since the military operation began.
According to the Russian side, the fighting situation in Mariupol, a city bordering the Sea of Azov is still fierce. Moscow has tightened the siege around this strategic port city. If it gains control of Mariupol and its surrounding areas, Russia will gain control of the Sea of Azov region. From the Sea of Azov, Russia could open the way down to the Black Sea, leading to a scenario where it could control Ukraine's coastline.
In addition, if it controls Mariupol, Russia may create a land corridor in Ukraine, connecting the breakaway territories in Eastern Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. Ukraine's Defense Ministry on March 18 confirmed that Ukrainian forces have "temporarily" lost access to the Sea of Azov due to the military operation of the Russian armed forces.
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