(Fixed typo in third subheading: Russia)
Kyiv (dpa-AFX) – Russia has threatened the thousands of Ukrainian troops still fighting in the port city of Mariupol with annihilation. The units, including 400 foreign mercenaries, were holed up in the Azovstal steelworks, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in Moscow on Sunday. The government in Kyiv has forbidden them to lay down their arms. Moscow had previously issued an ultimatum until Sunday noon and assured the soldiers that they would survive if they surrendered.
“In the event of further resistance, they will all be destroyed,” said Konashenkov. According to Russian information, there are about 2,500 fighters in the plant alone who want to defend the city against complete conquest.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj had repeatedly stated that he wanted to do everything to save the strategically important city. At the same time, he warned Russia against terminating negotiations to end the war if the Ukrainian fighters were killed. To Russia’s annoyance, Zelenskyy has so far refused to give up areas during the negotiations.
Russia accuses Ukraine of lack of movement in negotiations
The Russian head of parliament Vyacheslav Volodin accused Zelenskyj on Sunday of not moving at all in the negotiations. He stressed that Ukraine would have to give up its Luhansk and Donetsk regions, which Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin had recognized as independent states. Putin ordered Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 to take over the regions completely. In an interview with the US television channel CNN, Zelenskyy again categorically refused to recognize the annexation of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea by Russia.
Zelenskyj demands heavy weapons from the West against the Russian army
Zelenskyi repeatedly 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 complete control of with Moscow’s help.
A major Russian offensive is looming in eastern Ukraine. According to military experts, without the support of tanks and other weapons, the Ukrainian army is unable to repel a large-scale Russian attack in the largely flat terrain or to launch an offensive itself. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen therefore appealed to the EU countries to quickly deliver arms to Ukraine. “For all member states, those who can should deliver quickly, because only then can Ukraine hold its own in its acute defensive struggle against Russia,” said von der Leyen of “Bild am Sonntag”.
Pope speaks of “Easter of War”
The Easter sermons were also determined by the death and destruction in Ukraine, which was striving to join the EU. Under the impression of “too much bloodshed, too much violence”, Pope Francis used the celebrations of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the Vatican for emotional appeals for peace. In front of around 100,000 believers, he spoke of an “Easter of War”. “May one choose peace. Stop flexing your muscles while people suffer.” In Ukraine, the Easter of the Orthodox Churches, which follow a different calendar, will be celebrated in a week.
Russia continues to attack targets in Ukraine – people are dying
Numerous areas of Ukraine also reported Russian attacks on Palm Sunday, which was celebrated there. The focus was still on the east of the country. At least two civilians died in the city of Zolote in the Luhansk region, according to Ukrainian sources. Four other people were injured, wrote the governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hajday, on Telegram.
According to Ukrainian media, shelling in the center of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Sunday killed at least 5 people and injured 13, according to preliminary information. According to the authorities, at least three civilians died on Saturday as a result of artillery and rocket fire. 31 people were injured, said the governor of the region, Oleh Synyehubov.
According to the authorities, part of the infrastructure was hit in the town of Brovary near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. There could be interruptions in the water and electricity supply, Mayor Ihor Saposhko said in a video. The war goes on, he said. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the attack. A plant for the production of ammunition was destroyed there, said ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov in Moscow.
In the capital Kyiv, the authorities announced that it had remained quiet there – apart from the air raid alarm. Unlike the day before, there were no new explosions. A spokesman for the city emphasized that it was too early to speak of a safe situation. The day before Mayor Vitali Klitschko had warned citizens who wanted to return to do so. You should stay in a safe place.
In the region around the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, the regional governor Vitaly Kim announced that the Russian army was still firing rockets. According to his own statements, he expects a mobilization in Russia that could last one to two months. That’s enough time for Ukraine to stock up on weapons, he said in a video.
Zelenskyj would like a visit from US President Biden
President Zelenskyy called on US President Joe Biden to visit Ukraine in the CNN interview. Biden was reportedly unlikely to travel to Ukraine himself. Referring to US military aid, Zelenskyy said it would never be enough. Ukraine still needs more than what it has now. The United States recently pledged up to $800 million (€740 million) in weapons and ammunition to Ukraine. The US government has already pledged or delivered weapons worth US$ 2.5 billion to Ukraine since the Russian war of aggression began in late February.
Russia has been waging a war of aggression against neighboring Ukraine for almost seven and a half weeks. The United Nations has so far recorded around 2,000 killed civilians, but, like Kyiv, assume the number of civilian victims to be far higher./mau/DP/he