Defenders of Mariupol 'will be eliminated' after refusing to surrender, Russian defense ministry says
Russia's Ministry of Defense said Sunday that Ukrainian forces still defending Mariupol "will be eliminated" after they refused another ultimatum to "voluntarily lay down arms and surrender," CNN reports.
Per CNN, Ukrainian troops were told to leave Mariupol between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m. local time, leaving all weapons and ammunition behind.
The ministry also claimed that the city's remaining defenders had been forbidden to surrender by "the Kiev nationalist regime." Last month, The New York Times reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "had told Ukrainian soldiers still holding out" in Mariupol "that they could abandon the city to save their own lives."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On Saturday, Zelensky described the situation in Mariupol as "inhuman" and "as severe as possible," according to The Hill. Mariupol's mayor claims that over 10,000 of the city's civilian inhabitants have been killed since Russia's siege began early in the invasion.
Ukrainian forces, including soldiers from the right-wing Azov Battalion, are making what is likely to be a final stand inside Mariupol's large steel plant. If the city falls, Russia will control an unbroken "land bridge" connecting separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine with Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Putin says Russia isn't weakened by Syria setback
Speed Read Russia had been one of the key backers of Syria's ousted Assad regime
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Georgia DA Fani Willis removed from Trump case
Speed Read Willis had been prosecuting the election interference case against the president-elect
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Democrats blame 'President Musk' for looming shutdown
Speed Read The House of Representatives rejected a spending package that would've funding the government into 2025
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine-Russia: are both sides readying for nuclear war?
Today's Big Question Putin changes doctrine to lower threshold for atomic weapons after Ukraine strikes with Western missiles
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Incendiary device plot: Russia's 'rehearsals' for attacks on transatlantic flights
The Explainer Security officials warn of widespread Moscow-backed 'sabotage campaign' in retaliation for continued Western support for Ukraine
By The Week UK Published
-
The North Korean troops readying for deployment in Ukraine
The Explainer Third country wading into conflict would be 'the first step to a world war' Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned
By The Week UK Published
-
Experts call for a Nato bank to 'Trump-proof' military spending
Under The Radar A new lender could aid co-operation and save millions of pounds, say think tanks
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
What would happen if Russia declared war on Nato?
In depth Response to an attack on UK or other Western allies would be 'overwhelming'
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Last updated
-
Missile escalation: will long-range rockets make a difference to Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Kyiv is hoping for permission to use US missiles to strike deep into Russian territory
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Atesh: the Ukrainian partisans taking on Russia
Under The Radar Underground resistance fighters are risking their lives to defend their country
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
'Second only to a nuclear bomb' – the controversial arms Russia is using in Ukraine
The Explainer Thermobaric bombs 'capable of vaporising human bodies' have been used against Ukraine
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published