Russian President Vladimir Putin warned French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone call that the Russian shelling of Mariupol would continue until Ukrainian troops surrendered.
“Ukrainian nationalist militants must stop resistance and surrender arms in order to resolve the difficult humanitarian situation in that city,” Putin said on March 29, according to The Guardian.
Epoch Times reports Russia is in the process of gathering forces in eastern Ukraine in preparation for a fresh wave of attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy passed this information to the Ukrainians as they tried to make another attempt to rescue trapped civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol, where tens of thousands of people have been trapped by heavy bombing and fire from the Russian troops.
On March 31, authorities sent a convoy of 45 buses to evacuate trapped civilians.
Iryna Vereschuk, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, explained that the Red Cross had notified Ukrainian authorities after Russia’s defense ministry stated it was willing to allow a humanitarian convoy to reach Mariupol.
“We will do everything possible so that buses enter Mariupol today and pick up people who have not yet been able to get out of the city,” Vereschuk said, according to Interfax.
Despite communication from Russia specifying it would allow a day’s ceasefire for the rescue, Putin’s forces detained the busses on April 1, Forbes India reports.
Hours after her original announcement, Vereshchuk said in a videotaped statement on Telegram that the Russian forces stopped the convoy in the coastal city of Berdyansk. According to Forbes India, it was unclear how long the convoy would be detained.
Mariupol has been sieged by Russian forces for the past four weeks, leading to many deaths. The office of the mayor of Mariupol has estimated that over 5,000 people have died and 170,000 others are trapped, Reuters reports.
According to the United Nations, attempts to aid besieged cities have failed, with only a few civilians escaping using their private cars. The trapped citizens are without running water, food, power, or heat.
Though Putin stated the shelling of Mariupol will continue until the Ukrainian troops surrender, Zelenskyy said Ukraine would not back down.
“We will not give up anything…we will fight for every meter of our land, for every person,” Zelenskyy said in a video address.
Zelenskyy further indicated that Ukraine had picked up on Russian activity around Donbas and was ready for any impending attack. The Donbas region contains two self-proclaimed people’s republics, which Russia says it is seeking to free from Ukrainian control.
Denis Pushilin, the Donetsk People’s Republic leader, said his republic could be open to joining Russia if the country takes control of its region.
“As for joining the Russian Federation, as for the wish and aspiration, they have been clearly traced since 2014 — the desire to be in Russia,” Pushilin said, according to Yahoo News.
If Russia does move to Donbas, it will be consistent with a report from Moscow, which indicated that Russian troops would withdraw from some areas to channel their efforts towards liberating the eastern region of Ukraine, Yahoo News reports.
