MOSCOW
Russia gave holdout Ukrainian soldiers an ultimatum to lay down arms on Sunday in the pulverised southeastern port of Mariupol which Moscow said its forces nearly completely controlled in what would be its biggest capture of the nearly two-month war.
Several hours after the 0300 GMT deadline, there was no sign of compliance by Ukrainian fighters holed up in the smouldering Azovstal steelworks overlooking the Sea of Azov.
Having failed to overcome Ukrainian resistance in the north, the Russian military has refocused its ground offensive on the eastern Donbas region while maintaining long-distance strikes elsewhere including the capital Kyiv.
Russia said its troops had cleared the urban area of Mariupol, the main port in Donbas. It has seen some of the fiercest fighting and worst civilian suffering since the Feb. 24 invasion, with bodies littering destroyed streets and thousands hunkered down in atrocious conditions underground
The steelworks, one of Europe’s biggest metallurgical plants with a maze of rail tracks and blast furnaces, has become a last stand for the outnumbered defenders.
“The Russian Armed Forces offer the militants of nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries from 06:00 (Moscow time) on April 17, 2022, to stop any hostilities and lay down their arms,” Russia’s defence ministry said.
“All who lay down their arms are guaranteed that their lives will be spared,” it said, offering the defending “remnants” a four-hour window to leave the plant without arms or ammunition.
There was no immediate response from Kyiv to the ultimatum, though Ukraine’s military said Russian air strikes on Mariupol continued along with assault operations near the port.
