Thirty minutes after the ultimatum, there were no immediate reports of activity in the strategic port on the southeast side. Air raid sirens sounded throughout the country, a common occurrence, but there were no reports of strikes. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its troops had cleared the urban area of Mariupol and only a small number of Ukrainian fighters remained inside a steel plant in the city on Saturday. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Moscow’s claim that it has taken control of Mariupol, the scene of the fiercest conflict of war and the worst humanitarian catastrophe, could not be independently verified. It would be the first major city to fall to Russian forces since the February 24 invasion. “Taking into account the catastrophic situation at the Azovstal metallurgical plant, as well as on the basis of purely human principles, the Russian Armed Forces offer nationalist fighters and foreign mercenaries from 06:00 (Moscow time) on April 17, 2022. “to stop any hostilities and lay down arms,” the defense ministry said in a statement. read more “Anyone who lays down their arms is guaranteed their lives will be saved,” he said, adding that defenders could leave the factory by 10 a.m. without weapons or ammunition. There was no immediate response from Kyiv. “The situation is very difficult” in Mariupol, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the Ukrainska Pravda news portal. “Our soldiers are trapped, the wounded are trapped. There is a humanitarian crisis … Nevertheless, the guys are defending themselves.” As Moscow launched long-range rocket attacks across the country after its Black Sea flagship sank, Moscow said its warplanes had hit a tank repair factory in Kyiv on Saturday. An explosion was heard and smoke rose over the southeastern Darnytskyi district. The mayor said at least one person was killed and doctors were fighting to save others. read more The Ukrainian military says Russian warplanes taking off from Belarus have fired rockets into the Lviv region near the Polish border, and four cruise missiles have been shot down by Ukrainian air defenses. The western city, relatively intact so far, has served as a refuge for refugees and international aid organizations. TWISTED STEEL, VEHICLE VOLI In Mariupol, Reuters reporters arrived at the giant steel mill Illich, one of two metal factories where defenders had dealt with underground tunnels and warehouses. Moscow claimed to have seized it on Friday. The factory was turned into a ruin of twisted steel and sandblasted concrete, with no sign of defenders. Several bodies of civilians were scattered in nearby streets. The Russian Defense Ministry said that its troops “completely cleared” the urban area of Mariupol from Ukrainian forces and blocked the “remnants” of the Azovstal steel plant, RIA news agency reported. He said that since Saturday, Ukrainian forces in the city had lost more than 4,000 soldiers. Zelensky accused Russia of “deliberately trying to destroy everyone” in Mariupol and said his government was in contact with defenders. He did not mention Moscow’s claim that Ukrainian forces were no longer in urban areas. The governor of Kharkiv Oblast in the east said at least one person had been killed and 18 wounded in the rocket attack. Smoke was coming from the burning cars and the remains of an office building in the city. In Mykolaiv near the southern front, Russia said it had hit a military vehicle repair plant. The attacks followed Russia’s announcement on Friday that it would intensify long-range strikes in retaliation for unspecified acts of “sabotage” and “terrorism” hours after it confirmed the sinking of its Black Sea flagship, Moskva. Kyiv and Washington say the ship, whose sinking has become a symbol of Ukrainian disobedience, was hit by Ukrainian missiles. Moscow says it sank after a fire and its crew of about 500 people was evacuated. Russia’s Defense Ministry has released a video of the navy chief, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, meeting at a parade site with about a hundred sailors who he said were crew members. RUSSIA’S BIGGEST AWARD If Mariupol falls, it would be Russia’s biggest prize in the war to date. It is the main port of Donbass, an area of two provinces in the southeast that Moscow demands to be completely ceded to the separatists. Ukraine says it has so far detained Russian troops in other parts of Donbas, Donetsk and Luhansk, where at least one person was killed in overnight bombings. read more Ukraine gained the upper hand in the early stages of a war, in part through the successful development of mobile units armed with anti-tank missiles supplied by the West against Russian armored convoys confined to roads due to muddy ground. However, Putin seems determined to seize more of Donbass territory to claim victory in a war that has left Russia subject to increasingly punitive Western sanctions and few allies. The next round of European Union sanctions on Russia will target banks, including Sberbank (SBER.MM), as well as oil, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reports from Reuters journalists in Kyiv, Lviv and Mariupol and Reuters offices worldwide. Writes Raju Gopalakrishnan. Edited by William Mallard Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
