Ukraine vows to 'fight to the end' in Mariupol as Russia's ultimatum expires

By AFP   April 17, 2022 | 08:37 pm PT
Ukraine vows to 'fight to the end' in Mariupol as Russia's ultimatum expires
Russian soldiers walk along a street in Mariupol on April 12, 2022, as Russian troops intensify a campaign to take the strategic port city. Photo by AFP/Alexander Nemenov
Ukrainian prime minister says strategic city ‘has not fallen,’ as fighters hold out in massive steel factory; Zelensky says if Russia kills those troops, it will end peace talks.

Ukraine on Sunday vowed to fight to the end in Mariupol after a Russian ultimatum expired for remaining forces to surrender in the besieged Black Sea port city where Moscow is pushing for a major strategic victory.

"The city still has not fallen," Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said hours after Moscow’s deadline had passed for fighters holed up and surrounded in a sprawling fortress-like steelworks to surrender.

"There’s still our military forces, our soldiers. So they will fight to the end," he told ABC’s "This Week."

Russia’s defense ministry said there were up to 400 mercenaries inside the encircled Azovstal steel plant, without providing evidence, and called on Ukrainian forces inside to "lay down their arms and surrender in order to save their lives."

 
 
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