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The Donbas or Donbass is a historical, cultural, and economic region in southeastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War: the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic. Wikipedia
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Mariupol is in Southeastern Ukraine.
Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov in southeastern Ukraine, has seen the worst fighting of the seven-week-long war. Home to 400,000 people before Russia’s invasion, the city has been reduced to rubble by Russian shelling.
Over 20,000 civilians are believed to have been killed, tens of thousands remain trapped in the city, and countless numbers have fled. It is one of a number of sites were international investigators believe war crimes have taken place – including the bombing of a maternity war and of a theatre sheltering hundreds of people.
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They are also Ukrainians.
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Surrender or die: Russia issues chilling warning as it orders last defenders of besieged Mariupol to lay down their arms – but Zelensky warns Kremlin is trying to ‘destroy everyone there’
- Russia issued chilling ‘surrender or die’ ultimatum to the last defenders of besieged Mariupol on Sunday
- Moscow’s Defence Ministry claimed troops cleared city with only a small unit of Ukrainian fighters remaining
- Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted the situation in Mariupol remains ‘extremely severe’ in video
- Russian President Vladimir Putin growing increasingly desperate as his ongoing invasion continues to stall
Published: 10:55 BST, 17 April 2022 | Updated: 11:21 BST, 17 April 2022
Russia have issued a chilling warning to Ukrainian soldiers as it ordered the last defenders of besieged Mariupol to lay down their arms – but Volodymyr Zelensky warned the Kremlin is trying to ‘destroy everyone there’.
Moscow gave Ukrainian soldiers an ultimatum to ‘surrender or die’ by 3am GMT on Sunday after the Russian Defence Ministry claimed their troops had cleared the city – with only a small unit of Ukrainian fighters remaining in the giant Azovstal steelworks in the south-eastern port.
In a statement, the defence ministry said: ‘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. All who lay down their arms are guaranteed that their lives will be spared.’
But despite the offer, there have been no reports of soldiers laying down their arms with Kyiv yet to respond to the statement – as Russian air strikes continue on Mariupol, according to Ukraine’s military.
Were it to fall, it would be the the first major city to be taken by Russian forces since the invasion began on February 24.
Experts say the fall of Mariupol, seen as strategically vital for Russian plans to attack eastern Ukraine, is inevitable. But holdouts in their underground bases hope to make conquering the Sea of Azov port as hard as possible for the attackers.
The urban landscape of the Azovstal steelworks where Ukrainian forces, who took refuge at the site following reports Russia had used chemical weapons, plan to take on the invaders seems almost tailor-made for guerrilla warfare, with sprawling rail lines, warehouses, coal furnaces, factories, chimneys and tunnels.
The maze-like area is a metal works complex, Azovstal, owned by Metinvest, which has been the focus of urban fighting in Mariupol, just like the nearby Azovmash factory which makes rail components, cranes and other large metal structures.
Meanwhile, President Zelensky has admitted the situation in Mariupol remains ‘extremely severe’ and called on the west to provide the country with heavy weaponry.
Ukraine’s president said in a video address: ‘The situation in Mariupol remains as severe as possible. Just inhuman … Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there. The elimination of our troops, of our men [in Mariupol] will put an end to any negotiations.’
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Kharkov is in Northeastern Ukraine.
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weehingthong 