Russia issues ultimatum to Mariupol defenders

Russia calls on the last defenders of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol to surrender. If they lay down their arms at 6 a.m. (Moscow time) on Sunday morning, they will have until 1 p.m. to surrender and their lives will be spared, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported.

Earlier on Saturday evening, the ministry reported that Mariupol is largely in Russian hands. The last defenders are said to have holed up in a huge steel factory in the east of the city, on the Sea of ​​Azov. According to Russia, these are members of the nationalist Azov battalion and foreign mercenaries. The defenders would have hardly any water and food and would like to surrender, but the Ukrainian government in Kiev does not want to allow that, the Russians said.

Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky described the situation in Mariupol on Saturday evening in his daily video message as “simply inhumane”. He did not respond to claims that the city had been taken.