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Ukraine Rejects Ultimatum from Russia to Surrender Mariupol

Ukraine Rejects Ultimatum from Russia to Surrender Mariupol
Ukrainian Soldiers at a checkpoint. | Image by Ivor Prickett for The New York Times

On Monday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy flatly rejected a Russian demand to surrender the coastal city of Mariupol. Mariupol has been under siege for over two weeks and, as of late, has been the site of horrific civilian casualties.

Last week, a theater where hundreds of civilians were hunkered down was bombed. Serving as an “air-raid shelter,” it had been a safe zone before being hit.

At least 130 survivors were pulled from the rubble, but Ukrainian officials say hundreds are still left to rescue.

On Sunday, an art school serving as a shelter was bombed; at least 400 individuals were thought to be sheltering there, but the number of survivors is unknown. 

In addition to the bombings targeting civilians, Mariupol has been cut off from many necessities, including food and power. 

After a weekend of bombardment, Russia reached out to Ukrainian officials, promising to release any civilians left in Mariupol, but only if Ukraine troops laid down their arms and surrendered the city by 5 a.m. Monday morning. 

Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk stated there could be “no question of any surrender, laying down of arms” in the city of Mariupol. 

President Zelenskyy said that he was open to meeting with Russian President Putin himself, even in Moscow. Zelenskyy said the pair should meet face-to-face. Putin has offered no response. 

Nonetheless, talks between a Russian delegation and a Ukrainian delegation are set to resume.

This would be the sixth set of negotiations, though the five previous talks have had little effect to date.

A ceasefire agreement allowing people in areas such as Mariupol to evacuate without being fired upon fell through as civilians attempting to utilize the humanitarian corridors designated by the talks were attacked. 

“I’m ready for negotiations with him. I was ready for the last two years. And I think that without negotiations, we cannot end this war,” Zelenskyy told CNN.

While the United States has been very cautious regarding its involvement in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, President Zelenskyy has continued to put pressure on Western allies to provide more than humanitarian aid.

Zelenskyy addressed both the Canadian Parliament and the United States Congress, asking to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which President Joe Biden said “is off the table.” In lieu of that, Zelenskyy asked for defensive weapons so that his people could fight Russian troops. 

After Zelenskyy’s powerful speech to Congress, President Biden signed a relief bill that would fund the transport of, among other supplies, several Switchblade drones, anti-tank weapons, and anti-aircraft weapons. Humanitarian aid is also on the way.

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