Russia-Ukraine} Mariupol on the Edge of Destruction They Won't Surrender
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| Mariupol destroyed but not taken yet. Ukrainian Soldiers are barricaded in an old factory and they say they won't surrender. Meanwhile, Russia had to divert troops from other places to bring them to mariupol. |
Russia offered to spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Mariupol if they laid down their arms Sunday, as the weeks-long resistance in the besieged port-city appeared to be finally coming to an end.
The offer, made “out of purely humane principles,” gave Ukrainian forces still fighting in the city until 6 a.m. Moscow time (11 p.m. ET) to surrender, according to a statement from the Russian military, reported by the TASS news agency.
There were no immediate reports of activity from Ukrainian forces in Mariupol. Were it to fall, it would be the first major city to be taken by Russian forces since the Feb. 24 invasion.
There was also no immediate response from Kyiv.
- A missile attack in the early hours of Sunday damaged infrastructure in the city of Brovary, near Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, Igor Sapozhko, mayor of Brovary said in an online post.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there was a “humanitarian crisis” in the city and his soldiers were “blocked and wounded.”
- The Russian military could begin moving some of its forces back into Ukraine as soon as this weekend or early next week, according to two senior U.S. defense officials.
Ukraine's foreign minister says the takeover of Mariupol could end talks
WASHINGTON -- Ukraine’s foreign minister is describing the situation in Mariupol as dire and heartbreaking and says Russia’s continued attacks there could be a “red line” that ends all efforts to reach peace through negotiation.
Dmytro Kuleba tells CBS “Face the Nation” that the remaining Ukrainian military personnel and civilians in the port city are basically encircled by Russian forces.
He says the Ukrainians “continue their struggle” but that the city effectively doesn’t exist anymore because of massive destruction.
Kuleba says his country has been keeping up “expert level” talks with Russia in recent weeks in hopes of reaching a political solution for peace. But citing the significance of Mariupol, he echoed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in saying the elimination of Ukrainian forces there could be a “red line” that stops peace efforts.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden says he’s praying on Easter for those living in the “dark shadow” of war, persecution, and poverty.
Biden released an Easter message Sunday in which he says he’s also praying for peace, freedom, and basic dignity and respect for all of God’s children.
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Biden didn’t say which war he had in mind, but the president has been deeply involved in trying to force an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The American president says he’s grateful that the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic has allow many people around the world to celebrate by attending religious services and in-person family gatherings. He also acknowledges that the holiest day on the Christian calendar “falls on heavy hearts for those who have lost loved ones and those among us living in the dark shadow of war, persecution and poverty.”
Zelenskyy says Biden should visit Ukraine
Zelenskyy repeated a request for Biden to visit his war-ravaged country, but White House officials have said such a trip is highly unlikely to occur in the near future.
“I think he will,” Zelenskyy said on CNN's "State of the Union." “It’s his decision of course, about the safety situation, it depends. But I think he’s the leader of the United States and he should come here to see.”
In a February phone call, the Ukrainian president invited Biden to visit, citing the strong signal of solidarity the U.S. president’s presence would send.
White House officials have consistently downplayed the idea.
“We did talk about it,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said last week during remarks at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. The “president would love the opportunity to go into Ukraine, but it was not under any serious planning.”
While Russia withdrew troops from positions around Kyiv in recent days, it appears to be on the brink of taking Mariupol, a key strategic stronghold on the Black Sea, as Putin refocuses on conquering eastern and southern regions closer to his border.
Sergei Supinsky / AFP - Getty Image
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Ukraine Prime Minister says besieged Mariupol will fight to the end |
WASHINGTON — Ukraine’s prime minister says the besieged city of Mariupol hasn’t yet fallen to Russia and the Ukrainian forces there will fight “to the end.”
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal appealed during a Sunday appearance on an American television broadcast for help for the approximately 100,000 Ukrainians who remain trapped in the eastern city without food, water, heat and electricity.
He says some regions of Mariupol remain under Ukrainian control, and that Russia doesn’t have full dominance over the city.
Mariupol appeared on the brink of falling to Russian forces Sunday after seven weeks under siege. The Russian military gave a deadline for surrender to a few thousand Ukrainian fighters who were providing the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol, but the Ukrainians didn’t submit.
Shmyhal told ABC News “This Week” that Ukrainian forces are still fighting, including in the Donbas region, “but we do not have the intention to surrender.”
The prime minister says Ukraine is prepared to end the war through diplomacy, if possible. Shmyhal says surrender isn’t an option, adding that “we will not leave our country, our families, our lands, so we will fight absolutely to the end, to the win, in this war.”
At least two killed by Russian shelling in Zolote, regional governor says
At least two people were killed and four were wounded by Russian shelling on the eastern Ukrainian town of Zolote, the governor of Luhansk said Sunday.
“There is nothing nearby except residential buildings,” Serhiy Haidai said in a statement posted to his Telegram channel and translated by NBC News. “The Russians purposefully hit the population.”
He added that two floors were destroyed in one of the high-rise buildings."
NBC News could not verify his claim and Russia has repeatedly denied that it is targeting civilians.
New E.U. sanctions on Russia to target Sberbank, Commission head says
The European Union’s forthcoming sanctions on Russia will target banks, in particular, Sberbank, as well as oil, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, told a German newspaper.
Bild is Sonntag, in an interview published on Sunday, asked her to name the key points of a planned sixth round of sanctions.
“We are looking further at the banking sector, especially Sberbank, which accounts for 37 percent of the Russian banking sector. And, of course, there are energy issues,” she said.
The EU has so far spared Russia’s largest bank from previous sanctions rounds because it, along with Gazprombank, is one of the main channels for payments for Russian oil and gas, which EU countries have been buying despite the conflict in Ukraine. read more
She also said that the E.U. was working on “clever mechanisms” so that oil could also be included in the next sanctions.
“The top priority is to shrink Putin’s revenues,” she said.
E.U. commits a further $52 million to help Ukraine
The European Union is allocating a further €50 million ($52 million) to support humanitarian projects in Ukraine and Moldova, it said in a statement Sunday.
The money will go toward emergency medical services, providing access to safe drinking water and hygiene, and support against gender-based violence, the E.U. said.
“With millions of people on the move or trapped in active war zones, the needs in Ukraine are already massive,” said Janez Lenarčič, the European commissioner for crisis management. “Now, we need to be prepared for a further increase in Russia’s ruthless attacks on Ukraine, notably in the east.
He added that the funding would “help people in hard-to-reach areas who are cut off from access to healthcare, water and electricity, and those, who have been forced to flee and leave everything behind.”
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