Ukraine refuses to hand over the weapons of his army and leave the city of Mariupol before noon this Mondayin the southeast of the country, as required by Russia’s ultimatum, a government source reported today.
Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk told the online daily “Ukrayinska Pravda” this morning that the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation sent a letter to kyiv of eight pages “which are a return to history and a delirium”.
“They sent the same letter to the UNto the International Committee for Red Cross and hoped that international organizations would react and start putting pressure on Ukraine. This will not happen. The ICRC and the UN understand that it is a manipulation of Russia and that he is taking people hostage,” the deputy minister replied to the newspaper.
He added that “we cannot talk about handing over weapons. We have already informed the Russian side about it,” noting that Moscow was told that “instead of spending time on 8 letter pages, just open the corridor” humanitarian so that the civilians can leave.
The deputy minister said that they have informed the UN and the ICRC, and that they await the reaction of the international community. “It is a deliberate manipulation and it is a real hostage taking”denounced.
Some 400,000 people have been trapped in Mariupol for more than two weeks amid heavy shelling that has cut off central supplies of electricity, heat and water, according to local sources.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, described this Sunday the site of Mariúpol as “an act of terror that will be remembered for centuries to come.”
The deputy minister also accused the Russian army of trying to send 350 children “by force to Russia without allowing us to take them away”which he called “terrorism”.
Russia on Sunday called on Ukrainian forces to leave the city of Mariupol before noon.
“The organized departure from the city will take place as follows: from 10 to 12 o’clock all armed units of Ukraine and foreign mercenaries without weapons and ammunition (they will be able to leave the town) along an agreed route with Ukraine,” said Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia’s National Defense Control Center.
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At the same time, he assured that the Ukrainian forces that lay down their arms will be able to leave Mariupol “safely and without their lives being in danger.”
He added that humanitarian convoys from kyiv and from territories in the east of the country, which are not under his control, will be able to enter the city from noon.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.