Smoke rises above the Azovstal Steel Plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, in this still image taken from drone video recently posted to social media. MARIUPOL CITY COUNCIL/via REUTERS
April 19 – Russia on Tuesday ordered Ukrainian forces and foreign fighters holed up at the Azovstal Metallurgical Plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol to lay down their arms by noon Moscow time (0900 GMT) if they wished to live.
Mariupol, which has been encircled by Russian troops for weeks, has seen the fiercest fighting and most widespread destruction since Russia deployed troops to Ukraine on February 24.
Ukrainian authorities said on Monday that as many as 1,000 civilians were hiding in underground shelters under the huge Azovstal plant, adding that Russia would drop heavy bombs on the Ukrainian-controlled factory in the besieged city. Continue reading
The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday issued a statement calling on Ukrainian forces and foreign fighters inside to surrender.
“Those who lay down their arms are guaranteed to live,” the Ministry of Defense said.
She called on the troops to withdraw from the steel mill “without exception, without weapons and without ammunition” between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Moscow time.
Earlier Tuesday, Russian-backed separatist forces said they were trying to storm the Azovstal steel plant and seize control of it as quickly as possible. Continue reading
Reporting by Reuters