Day 27: Zelensky rejects Russian ultimatum, urges talks with Putin
Iran Press TV
Tuesday, 22 March 2022 2:03 AM
Ukraine says it will not obey ultimatums from Russia after Moscow demanded it stop defending besieged Mariupol which has become a focal point of the conflict.
The conflict has driven almost a quarter of Ukraine's 44 million people from their homes, and Germany predicted the refugee number could reach as high as 10 million in coming weeks.
Russia's military had ordered residents of Mariupol to surrender by 5 a.m. local time on Monday, saying those who did so could leave, while those who stayed would be handed to tribunals run by Moscow-backed separatists.
President Volodymyr Zelensky's government responded that it would never bow to ultimatums. "There can be no question of any surrender" in Mariupol, said Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.
Zelensky said it would not be possible to negotiate an end to the war in his country without meeting Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.
He also repeated his acknowledgement made earlier this month that Ukraine could not now secure NATO membership.
Since Russian troops poured into Ukraine last month, Zelensky has issued increasingly urgent calls for talks to end the fighting.
Mariupol, a port city on the Sea of Azov that was home to 400,000 people, has run short of food, medicine, power and water.
In response to President Joe Biden last week calling Putin a "war criminal," Russia's foreign ministry said on Monday it had summoned US Ambassador John Sullivan.
"Such statements from the American president, unworthy of a statesman of such high rank, put Russian-American relations on the verge of rupture," it said.
In Kiev, six bodies were laid on the pavement by a shopping mall struck overnight by Russian shelling. Emergency services combed wreckage to the sound of distant artillery fire.
Russia said the center was being used as a weapons store. Ukraine said there were no strategic military objects in the area.
Officials imposed a day-and-a-half curfew in the capital from Monday night, citing the likelihood of more shelling. Britain said there was heavy fighting to the north but that Ukrainian forces had fought off an advance and most Russian forces were more than 25 km (15 miles) from the city center.
Biden discussed Russia's operation in Ukraine with European leaders and Britain said they reaffirmed their commitment to support Ukraine militarily, diplomatically and economically.
But European Union foreign ministers disagreed on whether and how to include energy in sanctions, with Germany saying the bloc was too dependent on Russian oil to declare an embargo.
Targeting Russian energy exports, as the United States and Britain have done, is a divisive choice for the 27-nation EU, which relies on Russia for 40% of its gas.
Biden also said Monday that India was an exception among Washington's allies with its "shaky" response to the conflict as he lauded the US-led alliance for its alleged united front against Russia.
This includes unprecedented sanctions aimed at crippling Russia's currency, international trade and access to high-tech goods.
However, unlike fellow members of the Quad group — Australia, Japan and the United States — India continues to purchase Russian oil and has refused to join votes condemning Moscow at the United Nations.
Biden also claimed that Putin is considering using chemical and biological weapons in his war against Ukraine, without citing evidence.
Russia's defense ministry has accused Kiev of planning a chemical attack against its own people in order to accuse Moscow of using chemical weapons.
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