The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation offered the Ukrainian military from Mariupol to leave the city and enter the territories controlled by Kiev. In response, Ukraine stated that the military would not lay down their arms and leave the besieged city.
Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia’s National Defense Control Center, says:
“We call on units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, territorial defense battalions, foreign mercenaries to stop hostilities, lay down their arms and, along the humanitarian corridors agreed with the Ukrainian side, enter the territories controlled by Kiev.”
Moscow asked the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to provide practical support and monitoring of this operation, so that after the release of the military, civilians in the city could be evacuated. The Russian side claims that Ukrainian servicemen are preventing their rescue, using them as human shields.
In the Podolsky district of the Ukrainian capital on Monday night, a shopping center was shelled, after which a powerful fire broke out, explosions were heard. The mayor of Kyiv speaks of the dead and wounded.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed a missile attack on the mall at Vynohradar in Kyiv. They claim that from this area, the Ukrainian military fired from MLRS at Russian positions, and the area of the shopping center was used to store ammunition.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation also confirmed the strike with a hypersonic missile “Dagger” on a military facility in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. They say that “a protected underground arsenal located in a mountainous area, built back in Soviet times to store special ammunition and missiles, has been destroyed.” The Russian Defense Ministry says that the use of “Daggers” in the war with Ukraine will continue.
Earlier, the Ukrainian side reported an airstrike on an art school in the besieged Mariupol. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky says:
“In the besieged Mariupol, Russian planes dropped a bomb on an art school. People were hiding there. They were hiding from shelling, from bombing. There were no military positions. There were about four hundred civilians.”
Kharkiv was also subjected to powerful shelling last weekend; most of the inhabitants have already left it. Total in Ukraine refugees became a quarter of the population – up to 10 million people. Martial law in the country has been extended until April 25.
Volodymyr Zelensky, who has repeatedly asked the West to close the skies over Ukraine, turned to Israel. Speaking before the Knesset, he called on Israel to abandon the policy of neutrality and supply Kiev with the Iron Dome missile defense system, which he called the best in the world, writes euronews.
In his address to the countries of the world, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky recalled how an air raid signal sounds and again called for tougher sanctions against Russia:
“Please do not sponsor the war machine of this country, Russia. Not a single euro for the occupiers, close all your ports for them, do not supply goods, refuse Russian energy carriers, press Russia to leave Ukraine.”
The Ukrainian authorities accuse Russia of shelling a chemical plant in the city of Sumy – there was an ammonia leak, which posed a serious threat to local residents. The official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, rejects these claims and states that the Russian military does not strike at chemical enterprises.
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