The Ukrainian army will not “lay down its arms” in Mariupol. During an interview with a local media, broadcast overnight from Sunday to Monday, the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister declared that kyiv refuses to give in to the ultimatum posed by Russia on Sunday, March 20. “There is no question of talking about surrender or laying down arms. We have already informed the Russian side of it”, explained Iryna Vereshchuk, denouncing a “deliberate manipulation and a real hostage-taking”.
The Russian Defense Ministry had called on Ukraine to “lay down its arms” and demanded a “written response” to its ultimatum before 5 a.m. Monday, in the name of safeguarding the inhabitants and infrastructure of the city of Mariupol.
“We call on the official authorities in Kyiv to be reasonable and rescind the instructions given previously, which required the militants to sacrifice themselves and become martyrs de Marioupol “, had demanded Mikhail Mizintsev, director of the Russian National Defense Management Center, in a briefing released by the Ministry of Defense of Russia. “Lay down your arms,” he said. “A terrible humanitarian catastrophe has unfolded. All those who lay down their arms are guaranteed to be able to leave Mariupol in complete safety”.