Russia's 'surrender and live' deadline to Ukrainian troops fighting a last stand in Mariupol met with silence

An explosion is seen in an apartment building after Russian's army tank fires in Mariupol, Ukraine, Friday, March 11, 2022.

Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo

• The Russian Defense Ministry gave Ukrainian troops in Mariupol a deadline  to lay down their weapons, saying "surrender and live."
• The deadline has passed, and there has been no word from authorities in Mariupol. 
• Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has said that Russia "is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there."

The Russian Defense Ministry has released a statement giving Ukrainian troops in the besieged city of Mariupol a deadline — which has now passed — to lay down their weapons, saying "surrender and live."

The statement says that  "Taking into account the catastrophic situation at Azovstal Iron and Steel Works and being guided by purely humane principles, the Russian Armed Forces suggest that the militants of the nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries stop any hostilities and lay down their arms from 06:00 (Moscow time) on April 17 [04:00 BST, 22:00 CST on April 16, 23:00 EST on April 16]. All those who lay down their arms are guaranteed life.

However, there have been no comments from Ukraine on the situation, and there have been no updates since Moscow's deadline has passed, according to Reuters. 

 The vast Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol has become the last stand for the outnumbered Ukrainian resistance in the city, said Reuters.

Russian forces are continuing their offensive in the devasted southeastern port city, as the second phase of war focuses on the east of the country.

Russian forces have shelled Mariupol in a devastating campaign, hitting a school, maternity hospital, and even a theater marked as a shelter with children inside. 

It's not immediately clear exactly how many civilians have died there — Mariupol's city council said in a conservative estimate last week that around 5,000 civilians were killed.

Speaking about the attacks in Mariupol, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Russia "is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there," AP reported. 

The i newspaper reports that Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova has stated that over 400 people, including almost 150 children, have been taken from Mariupol to a fenced-in former chemical weapons plant in Russia.

Earlier this week, Zelenskyy said that "tens of thousands" of Ukrainian civilians could be dead in Mariupol.

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