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'Surrender... your lives will be spared': Russia to Mariupol defenders
Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the situation in Mariupol 'inhuman' and urged the West to immediately provide heavy weapons to help defenders fight back.
Russia has warned Ukrainian forces fighting to defend Mariupol to surrender starting 3 am GMT (8.30 am IST) to save their lives. Moscow claims to have secured most urban areas but a small band of fighters remain inside a steelworks factory in the city, news agency AFP reported.
Mariupol has been the scene of some of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in this war. Moscow's claims - to have all but taken control - could not be independently confirmed, news agency AFP reported.
If true, it will be the first major city to have fallen to Russian forces since the invasion began February 24. It is the main port of the Donbas, a region of two provinces in the southeast which Moscow demands be fully ceded to separatists.
"Taking into account the catastrophic situation that has developed at the Azovstal metallurgical plant, as well as being guided by purely humane principles, the Russian Armed Forces offer the militants of nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries from 06:00 (Moscow time) on April 17, 2022, to stop any hostilities and lay down their arms," Russia said.
"All who lay down their arms are guaranteed their lives will be spared," it said, adding that defenders could leave by 10 am without arms or ammunition.
There was no immediate response from Kyiv.
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the situation in Mariupol is 'inhuman' and urged the West to immediately provide heavy weapons to help defenders fight back.
"The situation in Mariupol remains as severe as possible. Just inhuman," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. "Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there."
READ: ‘Situation in Ukraine's Mariupol remains extremely severe': Zelenskyy
Faced with Russia's ultimatum, Zelenskyy has issued his own warning.
"The elimination of our troops, of our men (in Mariupol) will put an end to any negotiations. We don't negotiate neither our territories nor our people."
READ: Russia says Mariupol captured, Zelensky warns ‘no peace talks if...’
In Mariupol, Reuters journalists reached the steelworks, one of two metals plants where defenders had held out in underground tunnels and bunkers.
Moscow claimed to have captured it on Friday.
The factory was reduced to a ruin of twisted steel and blasted concrete, with no sign of defenders. Several bodies of civilians lay scattered on nearby streets.
Despite its claims of success in Mariupol, Moscow has struggled to overcome Ukraine's fighters despite superior weaponry and a numerical advantage.
Mariupol has become a symbol of that fierce resistance.
Russia has also warned Ukraine it will 'step up' attacks in retaliation for acts of 'sabotage' and 'terrorism' - a statement hours after its Black Sea flagship, the Moskva, sank.
Ukraine and the United States say the ship, whose sinking has become a symbol of defiance, was hit by Ukrainian missiles. Moscow says it sank after a fire and its crew was evacuated.
Russia this week also warned the US of 'unpredictable consequences' if it sends its 'most sensitive' weapons systems to Ukraine.
With input from AFP, Reuters
