Aggressors’ ultimatum: Mariupol should surrender to open humanitarian corridors for the residents
Denys Karlovskyy - Sunday, 20 March 2022, 22:37
The Russian Ministry of Defence has issued an ultimatum to the Ukrainian authorities to surrender the city by 5 a.m. on March 21, and then the Russian occupying forces will allegedly open humanitarian corridors for the residents and the disarmed Ukrainian military.
Source: Russian state media ‘RIA Novosti’
Details: Russian invaders are expecting a response from Kyiv to all their ultimative proposals by 5:00 a.m. on March 21 (it is unclear which time zone).
The occupying forces are allegedly ready to open humanitarian corridors for evacuation from Mariupol both to the east (to Russia) and to the west. They have announced the opening of the corridors at 10:00 on March 21 (without specifying Kyiv or Moscow time).
The Russians allegedly expect Ukrainian defenders and some "foreign mercenaries" to leave the city and to lay down their arms at 10:00 - 12:00. Then the occupying forces claim they are ready to let humanitarian aid in and allow the evacuation of civilians.
Russia's Defence Ministry pretended to invite the representatives of international organisations - the OSCE, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations - to monitor the process on land.
According to them, Kyiv is supposed to withdraw an "order" allegedly instructing defenders of Mariupol to "die defending the city " and surrender.
A representative of the Russian Ministry of Defence also cynically blamed Ukrainian defenders and Mariupol local authorities for airstrikes on theatre buildings, schools, kindergartens and hospitals. However, Ukrainian aircraft do not fly in the sky over Mariupol due to the proximity to Russian air defence systems and anti-aircraft missile systems in this vicinity.
They called on the Mayor, Vadym Boychenko, to capitulate in order to save the lives of the city residents. The Russians are intimidating the Ukrainian government by threatening them with an "international war crimes tribunal."
Background:
The convoy of buses left Zaporizhia at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 19. It was stopped by Russian troops 3 km away from seized Berdyansk, near the Azovske village. The occupying forces allowed buses to enter Berdyansk on March 20, where people who managed to walk from Mariupol to the neighbouring city began to board.
Russian aircraft dropped a bomb on an art school in the Left Bank district of Mariupol on March 19, where about 400 women, children and the elderly were sheltered. The building was destroyed, and people were trapped. Four warships of the Russian fleet attacked at Mariupol from the sea in the afternoon of March 20.
The Ukrainian authorities became aware of the forced deportation of Mariupol residents to Russian territory, where they were deprived of Ukrainian passports.
