Russo-Ukrainian War: Russian forces gives hold-outs time to surrender

Army General Sergey Shoygu, in a final attempt at playing humanitarian of the year, gave the last remaining Ukrainian troops situated at Mariupol's Azovstal iron and steel works plant time to surrender. Shoygu claimed urban districts around Mariupol were left deserted. There were no Ukrainian forces in sight.

"#Ukraine’s prime minister says that the strategic port city of #Mariupol “has not fallen,” tweets Al Arabiya English , "adding that the encircled forces defending the city from #Russian attack will “fight to the end.”

The Russian defence ministry, in a statement released to local and international media outlets, claimed 168,000 Mariupol residents had been "evacuated" from the port city. "Evacuated," when kidnapped is a more accurate fit, is a bit of a stretch. Ukrainian officials, not sugar-coating the truth, correctly observed thousands of Ukrainians have been forcefully departed to Russia.

Shoygu, serving as Russia's current Minister of Defence since December 2012, gave Ukrainian troops until 06:00 Moscow time to lay down their weapons and surrender to Russian forces. 06:00, for people unfamiliar with the various time zones, is 03:00 GMT in the UK on Sunday and 21:00 CST in the US on Saturday.

"The Azovstal iron and steel works, one of Europe's biggest metallurgical plants, has become an aptly apocalyptic redoubt for outgunned, outnumbered, and surrounded Ukrainian forces," tweeted Rappler.

The Ukrainians aren't standing alone. An unknown number of foreign fighters are assisting Ukrainian troops. Russian forces are also requiring the foreign fighters aiding the Ukrainians to surrender.

"Taking into account the catastrophic situation that has developed at the Azovstal metallurgical plant, as well as being guided by purely humane principles, 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," Shoygu said in a statement.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on Saturday 16 April 2022, made his feels clear. Zelenskiy accused Moscow of "deliberately trying to destroy everyone" in Mariupol. It appears Zelenskiy's government officials remained in touch with the Ukrainian troops defending the plant.

"Ukrainian military in Mariupol refused to surrender in response to Russia's proposal," tweeted NEXTA. " #Ukrainian army, which is now in the besieged #Mariupol, refused to surrender, which the #Russian side had previously offered to it, said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal."

The Ukrainian president, rallying his people in the country's defence, continues to express his thoughts in a nightly video address.

"I want to be heard correctly right now: there has not been a single day since the beginning of the blockade of Mariupol that we have not been seeking a solution... military or diplomatic," Zelenskiy said.

Mariupol, considering its strategic location, has significant military value to Putin and his forces. The port city, situated on the coast of the Azov Sea, has been a prime target since the invasion began.

"More apocalyptic footage of #Mariupol, completely gutted by Russia. The few buildings that still stand look like skeletons," reports linguist, lawyer, and writer Paula Chertok. "Bears repeating: Putin perversely unleashes his worst hell on the very Russian-speaking areas of Ukraine he claims he’s liberating."

The port city could be a prominent military staging ground for Russian forces. Capturing Mariupol would give the Russian Federation the ability to construct the land bridge it needs to control the Sea of Azov's entire north shore. The Donetsk region, partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists, is to the east and Crimea, geographically a peninsula, is to the west.

Crimea, a now former Eastern European country, was annexed by the Russian Federation in 2014. Historically, referencing the Russo-Turkish War, the then Russian Empire annexed Crimea in 1783.