Russia urged this Sunday (04.17.2022) the Ukrainian military in Mariupol, a city in the east of the country besieged by Russian forces, to cease hostilities and lay down their weapons as of 06:00 Moscow time (05:00 CET) and assured that life will be guaranteed.
The head of the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation, Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev said that if the Ukrainian forces still fighting in Mariupol lay down their arms, as of 6 am Moscow time on Sunday, their lives they will be forgiven.
The strategic Mariupol, next to the Sea of Azov, is one of the main goals of the Russians in their effort to achieve total control of the Donbas region and form a land corridor in the east of the country from the annexed Crimean peninsula.
“Given the catastrophic situation that has developed at the Azovstal metallurgical plant, in addition to being guided by purely human principles, the Russian Armed Forces offer militants from nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries from 06:00 Moscow time on April 17, 2022 stop any hostilities and lay down arms. All those who lay down their arms are guaranteed the preservation of life,” the statement said.
Mizintsev said that the content of the “negotiations between militants of national formations and mercenaries blocked in Mariupol at the Azovstal metallurgical plant testifies to their desperate situation, they persistently demand official permission from kyiv to surrender, but in response they receive threats of execution.”
It adds that the militants are “in a desperate situation, practically without food or water.”
The statement released this Sunday morning, according to the Russian agency, will also be transmitted to the UN, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organizations.
jc (efe, Archyde.com)