LAST STAND

Ukraine Vows to ‘Fight to the End’ in Mariupol, Defying Russian Ultimatum

Russia, on the brink of seizing the contested port city, warned that anyone who continued to resist after the Sunday noon deadline would “be eliminated.”

Ukrainian forces besieged in the strategic port city of Mariupol have spurned a Russian deadline to surrender that expired just after noon on Sunday, with top Ukrainian officials saying that troops would continue to defend the city to the last man. “There [are] still our military forces, our soldiers, so they will fight until the end,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told ABC News’ This Week. The Russian ultimatum, issued by its Ministry of Defense, threatened that anyone who continued to resist after 1 p.m. on Sunday would “be eliminated.” The ministry later claimed that the encircled Ukrainian forces “were offered to voluntarily lay down arms and surrender in order to save their lives,” according to CNN. But, the ministry continued in its statement, “the Kiev nationalist regime… forbade negotiations about surrendering.” In a Sunday interview, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rebuffed that allegation, calling the soldiers in Mariupol “heroes” for what they had already done. “And if they decide to make one move or another, believe me, no one will stop them,” he said.