Ukraine rejects Russia demand to surrender Mariupol as deadline passes

By Agencies 21 March 2022, 7:37 am

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Local residents carry water from the food warehouse, on the territory which is under the Government of the Donetsk People's Republic control, on the outskirts of Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 18, 2022. (Alexei Alexandrov/AP)

Ukraine rejects an ultimatum from Moscow to surrender the besieged port city of Mariupol to Russian forces.

Russia gave the city an ultimatum late Sunday, urging its defenders to surrender before 05:00 am on Monday.

Russia has been barraging the encircled southern city on the Sea of Azov, hitting an art school sheltering some 400 people only hours before offering to open two corridors out of the city in return for the capitulation of its defenders, according to Ukrainian officials.

Fighting for Mariupol continues to be intense, even as the Russian offensive in other areas has floundered to the point where Western governments and analysts see the broader conflict grinding into a war of attrition.

“There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk tells the news outlet Ukrainian Pravda. “We have already informed the Russian side about this.”

The Russian Ministry of Defense say authorities in Mariupol could face a military tribunal if they sided with what it described as “bandits,” the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reports.

Previous bids to allow residents to evacuate Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities have failed or have been only partially successful, with bombardments continuing as civilians sought to flee.