According to the Ukrainian authorities, there are about a thousand civilians in the Azovstal steelworks along with some 2,500 soldiers, who have been given another ultimatum by Russia to hand over their weapons. On the other hand, the Ukrainian president has confirmed the start of the Russian offensive in Donbass.
This Tuesday the assault on the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol has begunthe last pocket of resistance in the Ukrainian city where, according to the Ukrainian authorities, there are nearly a thousand civilians along with some 2,500 soldiers. Russia today gave another ultimatum to the Ukrainian forces still resisting in Mariupol (as of 12:00 local time), especially in the Azovstal steel mill, to lay down their arms in exchange for saving their lives.
The spokesman for the Donetsk militias, Eduard Basurin, has confirmed the beginning of the assault on the Mariupol Azovstal steelworks: “As far as I know, some assault groups, specially selected for this mission, have already started their work and the Russian Federation helps us with its aircraft and artillery”.
According to Basurin, the pro-Russian forces they control all the residential neighborhoods of Mariupol and he is confident that the Ukrainian forces in Azovstal will soon surrender.
Russia issued an ultimatum over the weekend to the defenders of Mariupol to hand over their weapons in exchange for their lives being spared. The Ukrainian forces refused to surrender and promised to fight to the end. Today, Russia has given another ultimatum to the Ukrainian forces that are still resisting in Mariupol, especially in the Azovstal steel mill, to lay down until noon this Tuesday (12:00 in Russia, 11:00 in the Basque Country) the weapons.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, together with soldiers in the Azovstal steelworks there are about a thousand civilians, including women and children, and about 100,000 inhabitants are in other areas of the city port. Russia, for its part, rejects that civilians can take refuge in the factory and assures that its attacks are directed only against Ukrainian armed groups.
The Russian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, confirmed last night the start of the Russian offensive on Donbass, in eastern Ukraine, during his daily message to the nation.
“Russian forces have started the battle for Donbass,” Zelensky said. “It doesn’t matter how many Russian soldiers they bring into the area. We will continue to fight and defend ourselves. We will continue to do so on a daily basis. We are not going to surrender or hand over anything that is Ukrainian, but we also do not need anything that is not ours,” he added.
Source: Eitb
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