Ukraine has turned down a Russian demand to surrender the key strategic city of Mariupol in exchange for opening humanitarian corridors into the area.
BBC News reports that there are around 300,000 people trapped in the besieged port city, where residents have endured weeks of Russian bombardment with no power or running water and rapidly depleting supplies.
Ukrainian MP Dmytro Gurin accused Russian forces of trying to starve the city into surrender, adding that there was no question of the defending troops laying down their arms because they could not rely on Russia's promises.
"Russians don't open humanitarian corridors, they don't let humanitarian convoys enter the city and we clearly see now that the goal of the Russians is to start to [create] hunger [in the city] to enforce their position in the diplomatic process and if the city does not surrender, and the city will not surrender, they won't let people out. They won't let humanitarian convoys into the city," he said.
The ceasefire proposal claimed that if Ukrainian forces laid down their weapons by 05:00AM Moscow time, Russian troops would have then opened safe travel routes out of Mariupol from 10:00AM Moscow time so that all armed personnel could leave the city.
Reuters reports that Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, the director of the Russian National Center for Defense Management, announced: "Lay down your arms."
"A terrible humanitarian catastrophe has developed," Mizintsev added. "All who lay down their arms are guaranteed safe passage out of Mariupol."
They also stated that two hours later, humanitarian convoys carrying food, medicine, and other urgent supplies would have been allowed to enter the city unharmed.
However, the deadline for surrender came and went, as Mariupol's defenders stood firm.
Per Reuters, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said: "There can be no question of any surrender, laying down of arms. We have already informed the Russian side about this. I wrote: 'Instead of wasting time on eight pages of letters, just open the corridor.'"
The port city is a key strategic location for invading Russian troops because - were it to be captured - it would allow them to create a land corridor between Crimea and the Russian-back separatist regions of eastern Ukraine Donetsk and Luhansk.
While Russians bombard the city, reports of conditions for those trapped there are increasingly alarming. Gurin described how "services cannot clean this rubble because the shelling never stops and bombing never stops," adding that "it's really dangerous."
Meanwhile, Mariupol mayor Vadym Boyhenko estimated that 80% of residential buildings had been either destroyed or damaged and Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak described the city as "hell on Earth" per BBC News.
It is reported that 400,000 residents remain trapped in the city.
If you would like to know how you can support the Ukrainian people at this time, click HERE to find a list of organizations and groups dedicated to helping those affected by this crisis.
.jpg_z4yQpE?tr=h-184)
