Russia Attacks Mariupol, Asks Troops In Azovstal To Lay Down Arms And Surrender Today

Dampak serangan Russia of Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons / dsns.gov.ua / State Emergency Service of Ukraine)

JAKARTA - The fighting is entering its eighth week since the invasion began on February 24, when Russia focused its attacks on eastern Ukraine and requested Ukrainian troops in Azovstal, Mariupol.

Thousands of Russian troops backed by artillery and rocket fire advanced in what Ukrainian officials called the Battle of Donbas.

Russia attacked the Azovstal steel mill, the main remaining stronghold in Mariupol, with bunker-destroying bombs, an adviser to Ukraine's president said late Tuesday. Reuters was unable to verify the details.

"The world is witnessing the killing of children online and remains silent," advisor Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter, cited from Reuters, April 20.

After previous ultimatums to surrender failed and by midnight, Russia's Defense Ministry said not a single Ukrainian army had laid down their arms and renewed the proposal. The Ukrainian commander in Azovstal has vowed not to surrender.

"The Russian armed forces, based purely on humanitarian principles, once again propose that the fighters of the nationalist battalion and foreign mercenaries cease their military operations from 1400 Moscow time on April 20 and lay down their arms," the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The Russian side said the call was communicated directly with the Ukrainian side.

"This statement was immediately conveyed to the Ukrainian side through Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk through operational communication channels," Colonel Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defense Management Center, said, citing TASS.

According to Mizintsev, this statement will continue to be relayed to the Ukrainian unit in Azovstal via radio channels every 30 minutes starting at 00:00 a.m. Moscow time on April 20.

In addition, he said this statement should be immediately announced and communicated to the United Nations, OSCE, International Committee of the Red Cross, and other international organizations, diplomatic missions through all communication channels and media resources.

"The Kyiv government made no efforts to save its soldiers. Fully aware of the lack of responsibility of the Kyiv regime for the imminent sad ending of the last hotspot of resistance in Mariupol, and guided only by humanitarian principles, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation repeated their call to militants from nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries to cease hostilities and lay down arms from 14:00 Moscow time on April 20, 2022," he explained.

Colonel-General Mizintsev added that Russia guarantees life and medical assistance to all those who agree to lay down arms.