the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskystated this Monday that his country cannot meet the ultimatum of Russia to hand over the strategic city of Mariupol because for this the Russian forces would have to destroy the Ukrainian people.
“Ukraine will not be able to fulfill the ultimatum. We won’t be able to do it physically. How can this be done? They would have to eliminate us all and then their ultimatum will be fulfilled automatically & rdquor ;, Zelensky said in an interview with European media, an extract of which has been advanced by the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne and picked up by Ukrinform.
The President of Ukraine has stated: “For example, give us Kharkivgive us Mariupol, give us Kyiv. Neither the inhabitants of Mariúpol, nor the people of kyiv can do this & rdquor ;. He has also added that even in cities already occupied by the Russians, such as Melitopol or Berdyansk“when they (the russian troops) enter, people do not give up. (The Russians) raise the flag, people lower it. They killed a man, yes, the people hid, but at night they came out and took down the flag again. What do you want? Destroy us all? We can fulfill the ultimatum only when we are no longer around & rdquor ;.
This Sunday, Moscow announced an evacuation proposal for Mariupol, surrounded by Russian forces, which included that the fighters lay down their weapons and in return have free passage to territory controlled by the Ukrainian Army. In addition, Russia has raised as a condition to stop its military offensive the recognition of the annexation of crimea by Russia, the independence of Donetsk and Lugansk and Ukraine’s neutrality. This last proposal, the renunciation of admission to the NATOis the only one that kyiv would accept.
rejection of the ultimatum
Related news
The Ukrainian Government and the local authorities of Mariúpol have refused this Monday to hand over the Army’s weapons and leave the besieged city, as required by the Russian ultimatum. “It’s 8 pages with a return to history and another delirium. They sent the same letter to the UNto the International Committee for Red Cross (ICRC) and expected international organizations to react and start putting pressure on Ukraine. This will not happen, since the ICRC and the UN understand that it is a manipulation by Russia and that it is taking people hostage”, explained the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, Irina Vereshchukin an interview with ‘Ukrayinska Pravda’.
The port city of Mariupol, in southeastern Ukraine, is the focus of the war with Russia, in a siege that has been going on for days and is likely to continue. Some 400,000 people have been trapped in Mariupol for more than two weeks amid heavy shelling that has cut off central electricity, heating and water supplies, according to local sources.