Mariupol fighters 'will be destroyed', says Russia

Service members of pro-Russian troops ride on armoured vehicles in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict on a road leading to the city of Mariupol. Credit: Reuters Photo

The Russian military has warned that Ukrainian troops refusing to surrender in the besieged port of Mariupol will be destroyed.

The Russian Defence Ministry gave the Ukrainians at Mariupol's giant Azovstal steel mill until 1 pm Sunday (1000 GMT) to surrender, saying that those who put down their weapons will be “guaranteed to keep their lives.”

Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov said the Ukrainian military command had banned its troops from surrendering. He said the Russian military received the information from intercepted communications.

Also Read: 'Elimination' of last Mariupol troops would end Moscow talks: Zelenskyy

Konashenkov warned that “all those who will continue resistance will be destroyed”.

He claimed that along with Ukrainian troops, there are about 400 foreign mercenaries encircled at Azovstal, most of them from European countries and Canada, communicating in six languages, according to intercepts. Konashenkov's claim couldn't be independently verified.

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