Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky rejected the “ultimatums” raised by Russia, which defended its bombing of a shopping center in the capital, kyiv, which killed eight people.
“Ukraine cannot accept any ultimatum from Russia. First of all, it will be necessary to destroy us all, only then will their ultimatums be respectedZelensky told the Ukrainian information portal Suspilne, rejecting Moscow’s demands.
Russia wants the cities of Kharkov (northeast), Mariupol (southeast) or kyiv, the capital, to surrender, stressed the head of the Ukrainian state.
But “neither the people of Kharkov, nor those of Mariupol, nor those of kyiv, nor I, the president, can do it”, he pointed out.
In addition, he qualified, any “commitment” that is reached in the negotiations with Russia, must be submitted to a “referendum” in Ukraine.
In parallel Ukraine called China, to “play an important role” to end the conflict.
Key objective
The military command of the Kremlin had warned the authorities of Mariúpol (southeast) that they had until “5 in the morning (…) on March 21” to respond to eight pages of demands, which according to Ukrainian officials would amount to a capitulation .
Like Zelensky, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk rejected the ultimatum, saying Moscow should instead allow trapped residents to leave.
The defenders of Mariupol have “played a huge role in destroying the enemy’s plans and improving our defense”, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said.
“Today Mariupol is saving kyiv, Dnipro and Odessa. Everyone must understand”, he assured.
There, almost 350,000 people are trapped without water or electricity. The town has been under bombardment by Russian troops for almost a month.
Mariupol is a key target in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine because it forms a land bridge between Russian forces in Crimea to the southwest and Russian-controlled territory to the north and east.
bombed shopping mall
On Monday, Russian bombs again hit multiple targets, including a shopping mall in kyiv, killing at least eight people, according to the prosecutor general’s office.
AFP reporters saw six bodies covered by black sheets lying on the ground in the Retroville shopping center.
An Orthodox priest walking through the wreckage mumbled prayers as he cursed “Russian terrorists.”
“My apartment shook with the force of the explosion, I thought the building would collapse”, said Vladimir, 65, who lives nearby.
Russia said it targeted the mall with “long-range precision weapons” because the building was “not operational” and was being used as a weapons warehouse.
In the north, authorities urged residents of Novoselytsya to take shelter after a “leakage” of ammonia at a nearby chemical plant, amid heavy fighting in the area.
In Kherson, a southern city occupied by Russian forces, a demonstration was dispersed by the military with automatic weapons fire and tear gas, leaving at least one injured.
And the victims of the war were also joined by Boris Romantschenko, 96, a man who had survived several Nazi camps and who died in the bombing of his building in Kharkov, the German Foundation for Buchenwald Monuments reported on Monday and Mittelbau-Dora.
sanctions
Away from the frontlines, the leaders of the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy returned to urgent talks about the war.
In a separate meeting, the foreign ministers of the European Union studied in Brussels new sanctions against Russia.
Some members of the bloc are pushing for an embargo on Russian oil and gas, but Germany rejects it, warning it could spark social instability.
The spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dmitri Peskov, warned for his part that a “However, this would have a very serious influence on the world oil market, a negative influence on the European energy market.“, said
oil goes up
Oil prices, already soared by the conflict in Ukraine, rose again on Monday, even topping $110 a barrel.
This issue will be on the table at a European Union summit on Thursday in Brussels, also to be attended by President Joe Biden.
The US leader will also take part in a NATO summit and G7 talks, before traveling on Friday to Poland, which is home to more than two million Ukrainians who fled the war.
This Monday, Biden called on companies to protect themselves from possible computer attacks carried out by Russia in response to sanctions.
Biden was severely criticized by Russia after the US president described Vladimir Putin as “war criminal”.
“These kinds of statements by the American president, which are not worthy of a high-ranking politician, have put Russian-American relations on the brink of rupture.”, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement.
In Russia, a court on Monday banned Facebook and Instagram for “extremist” activities, a move that reinforces Moscow’s attempt to control information about the offensive in Ukraine.
Humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate in the mostly Russian-speaking south and east of Ukraine, as well as in the north around kyiv.
In all, some 10 million Ukrainians have fled their homes, and about a third have gone abroad, according to the UN refugee agency.
The repercussions of the war extend beyond the region and famine is feared in some parts of the world, as both Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of agricultural products.
Source: Gestion
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