Ukrainians escaping from the besieged city of Mariupol along with other passengers from Zaporizhzhia arrive at Lviv, western Ukraine, on Sunday, March 20, 2022.
Highlights
- Ukraine responded with a strong 'no' to Russia's demand of surrendering Mariupol.
- Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that surrender is not an option.
- Russia had demanded that Ukraine must surrender Mariupol by 5 am on March 21.
Soon after Russia's defense ministry demanded that Ukrainians in Mariupol give up arms and the besieged city, Ukraine responded with a strong 'no'. Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk responded to Russia by stating that surrender is not an option, reported the Kyiv Independent. “There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms. We have already informed the Russian side about this,” she told the news outlet Ukrainian Pravda.
The letter from Russia’s Defense Ministry said it would only establish a humanitarian corridor if Mariupol surrenders. Russia had demanded that Ukraine must surrender Mariupol by 5 am on March 21. Russia had claimed that it will then open humanitarian corridors for civilians and disarmed soldiers.
Russian forces would allow two corridors out of the coastal city, heading either east toward Russia or west to other parts of Ukraine, said Russian Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev. The Russian demand came hours after Ukrainian authorities said Moscow’s forces bombed an art school that was sheltering about 400 people, reported news agency AP.
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.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a bill extending martial law in Ukraine, the press service of Ukraine's parliament said Sunday. The legislation extended the current martial law for 30 days starting March 26.
