Ukrainian officials have rejected a Russian demand that their forces in the besieged strategic port city of Mariupol lay down arms and raise white flags in exchange for safe passage out. Ukrainian officials rejected the Russian proposal for safe passage out of Mariupol even before Moscow’s 5am (3am London) deadline for a response came and went. Russian Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev had offered two corridors — one heading east toward Russia and the other west to other parts of Ukraine. He did not say what action Russia planned to take if the offer was rejected. Refugees on the Romanian border earlier in the warThe fall of Mariupol would allow Russian forces in southern and eastern Ukraine to link up.

Source: The Herald March 21, 2022 09:54 UTC