There could also be numerous civilian casualties as the Russian military is expected to storm the defender-occupied Mariupol Steelworks. The Azovstal site has become a haven for “many civilians,” Mariupol police chief Mikhail Vershynin said Sunday evening, according to a report by Ukraine’s state news agency Ukrinform. Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again urged rapid arms deliveries.
Vershynin told local Mariupol TV that there are still 100,000 civilians in the city. They were used by the invaders “to clear debris and pick up corpses.” In this way, the Russian army wants to remove the traces of its crimes. In addition, all residents of the city are required to wear white ribbons on their left arms and right legs. But all soldiers would also have the same ribbons, “deliberately turning civilians into warriors”.
Selenskyy threatens to end talks with Moscow
An ultimatum from the Russian army to Ukrainian fighters in the strategically important sea port city of Azov expired on Sunday. The Ukrainian government acknowledged that the militants were already surrounded, but they would “fight to the end,” Prime Minister Denys Shmychal said. President Zelenskyy has threatened to end the ceasefire with Moscow if Ukrainian militants are killed.
In a video address on Sunday evening, Selenskyj criticized the delays in arms deliveries for his country. In view of an expected new offensive by Russian troops, this means “authorization for Russia to kill Ukrainians”. He didn’t name countries, but Kiev had recently urged Germany in particular to deliver weapons more quickly.
Thousands of civilians feared killed in Mariupol
Zelenskyy warned that the Russian army is preparing an offensive in the industrial region of Donbass in eastern Ukraine in the near future. “Just as Russian troops are destroying Mariupol, they also want to raze other towns and villages in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblast,” he said. In Mariupol, which has been under siege for weeks, thousands of residents are believed to have died.
Should Russia capture Mariupol, it would be the first major conquest since the war began on February 24. Russia says its troops are largely in control of the city. Only a group of Ukrainian fighters is holed up at the Azovstal site, one of the two major steel plants in Mariupol. The factory site with numerous buildings and railway lines is more than eleven square kilometers in size. The Russian Defense Ministry said, based on radio recordings, that there were 400 foreign mercenaries among the Ukrainian soldiers. These would have orders to fire on anyone who wanted to surrender.
Selenskyj shows sarcasm in video speech
In his video message, Selenskyj also reported on new victims in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkov. In the past four days, 18 residents of the country’s second-largest city have been killed by Russian shelling and 106 others injured. “Today, Russian troops have mainly shelled the streets of Culture, Shevchenko and Darwin. Apparently, these words – culture, Shevchenko and Darwin – are particularly dangerous for Russia. It is something that threatens their existence,” said the ex-comedian, known for his sarcastic humor. Taras Shevchenko made a significant contribution to the development of the modern Ukrainian language as a poet in the 19th century, while British naturalist Charles Darwin is considered the founder of the modern theory of evolution.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
