In the event of surrender, soldiers were guaranteed to live. “In the event of further resistance, they will all be destroyed,” Konashenkov said. According to Russian information, there are about 2,500 fighters at the plant who want to defend the city against a total conquest.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated that he wants to do everything to save the strategically important city. He demanded tanks and other heavy weapons from the west to defend eastern Ukraine. Mariupol is in the Donetsk region, which pro-Russian separatists want to take full control with Russia’s help.
Konashenkov also said “hostages” were “freed” from a mosque in Mariupol at the request of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. During Saturday’s “special operation”, people detained by “Ukrainian Nazis” were brought to the safety of the Turkish mosque. 29 fighters, including foreign mercenaries, were killed. Russia did not name several “hostages”. This information was also not initially verifiable by an independent party. The mosque is in the harbor, people may have sought safety there.
According to Russian Major General Konashenkov, around 4,877 mercenaries are still fighting in Ukraine, most of them from Poland, the US, Canada and Romania. There are also hundreds from Great Britain and the Republic of Georgia from the South Caucasus. More than 1,000 foreign fighters have been killed so far, he said. This information could not be verified by an independent party.
According to the authorities, at least three civilians were killed by Russian artillery and rockets in Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine. 31 people were injured, the region’s governor, Oleh Synyehubov, wrote on Telegram on Sunday. In total, Russian troops bombed parts of the regional capital Kharkiv and cities in the region 23 times. There was also a rocket attack. Synyehubov warned Kharkiv residents not to leave without a valid reason.
Part of the infrastructure was hit by a Russian rocket attack on the town of Brovary, near the Ukrainian capital Kiev. There could be interruptions to water and power supplies, Mayor Ihor Saposchko said in a video. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the attack. An ammunition production factory was destroyed there, according to ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov in Moscow. The war continues, said Mayor Saposhko in Brovary. On his Telegram news channel, the mayor urged citizens of the city about twelve kilometers northeast of Kiev to remain calm.
In Kiev, authorities announced that they had remained quiet there – except for an airstrike. Unlike the previous day, there were no further explosions. A city spokesperson stressed that it was too early to speak of a safe situation. The day before, Mayor Vitali Klitschko had warned citizens who wanted to do it again. You must stay in a safe place.
In the region around the city of Mykolayiv in southern Ukraine, regional governor Vitaly Kim reported that the Russian army was still firing rockets. According to his own statements, he expects a mobilization in Russia that could last from one to two months. That’s enough time for Ukraine to stockpile weapons, he said in a video. Ukraine demands heavy weapons from the West.
The Russian Defense Ministry said a total of 68 other military objects in the country were destroyed within 24 hours. Among them were six fields with rockets, artillery and fuel, but also drones and combat units, according to Moscow.