Ukraine rejects Russian demand to surrender Mariupol; Kyiv shopping center destroyed: Live updates – USA TODAY
Ukraine firmly rejected a Russian offer to open two safe corridors out of Mariupol in exchange for the city’s surrender as the relentless missile strikes on the battered seaport city stretched deeper into a fourth week Monday.
The Russian news agency TASS reported the offer, citing Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defense Control Center. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk rejected the idea outright.
“There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms. We have already informed the Russian side about this,” she told the news outlet Ukrainian Pravda. “I wrote: ‘Instead of wasting time on eight pages of letters, just open the corridor.'”
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The city, crucial for its access to the Sea of Azov, has been pounded by Russian artillery since the war began more than three weeks ago. Russian forces have been accused of bombing civilian shelters, and hundreds of thousands have recently fled the city.
Ukrainian Parliament Member Dmytro Gurin said Russia is trying to starve Mariupol to strengthen their positions in negotiations.
“Russians don’t open humanitarian corridors, they don’t let humanitarian convoys enter the city, and we clearly see now that the goal of the Russians is to start to (create) hunger (in the city) to enforce their position in the diplomatic process,” he said.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is accusing Russia of committing war crimes for the “indiscriminate” killings in Mariupol. Other cities also have felt Russia’s wrath, and about a quarter of Ukraine’s population has been displaced less than a month into Russia’s invasion, according to the United Nations. Ukraine’s population has already been declining for years, dropping from over 50 million in the 1990s to 43 million in 2022.
Now, more than 10 million more Ukrainians – or roughly 25% – have either been displaced inside their country or have fled as refugees to other countries as Russian forces continue their besiegement of residential communities.
Latest developments
►Russia reopened bond trading on the Moscow exchange Monday for the first time since the country invaded Ukraine. Stock trading remained closed.
►AP video journalist Mstyslav Chernov has recounted his harrowing experience as the only international journalist, along with AP photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, in besieged Mariupol before fleeing last week. “We were the last journalists in Mariupol. Now there are none,” he said. Read Chernov’s account here.
►Russian forces shelled an ammonia plant in Sumy district, releasing a toxic ammonia cloud. Emergency services are dispersing it, and no casualties were immediately reported.
► President Joe Biden was hosting a call Monday with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “discuss their coordinated responses to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine,” the White House said.
Britain: Russian imposter made calls to top UK officials
Britain is accusing Russian after an imposter posing as the prime minister of Ukraine called to two government ministers. Home Secretary Priti Patel and Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said they were called, and Wallace said he briefly spoke with the imposter. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman, Max Blain, said the government is concerned Russia will use doctored versions of the calls for it disinformation campaign.
“He posed several misleading questions and after becoming suspicious I terminated the call,” Wallace said. “No amount of Russian disinformation, distortion and dirty tricks can distract from Russia’s human rights abuses and illegal invasion of Ukraine. A desperate attempt.”
Patel called the effort a “pathetic attempt at such difficult times to divide us.”
Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher team up for $35M fundraiser
Actor Mila Kunis and husband Ashton Kutcher have raised $35 million in humanitarian relief for the people of Ukraine through their fundraiser on GoFundMe. Kunis, who was born in Ukraine, and Kutcher exceeded their initial fundraising goal of $30 million thanks to the donations of more than 70,000 people.
“We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the support, and while this is far from a solve of the problem, our collective effort will provide a softer landing for so many people as they forge ahead into their future of uncertainty,” Kunis said in a video.
Freight forwarder Flexport and nonprofit Airbnb.org will facilitate aid efforts by “transporting humanitarian aid to known NGOs on the ground” and “providing free, short-term housing to up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine,” Kunis and Kutcher said.
Kunis, 38, was born in Chernivtsi, a southwestern Ukraine city of about 250,000 people, in 1983. Her family emigrated to the United States in 1991.
– Rasha Ali
China’s Red Cross providing aid to Ukraine
The Chinese Red Cross will provide Ukraine with another $1.57 million in humanitarian aid, Chinese officials said Monday. The agency has provided Ukraine with at least three batches of humanitarian supplies, including milk powder and quilts for children, in recent weeks, said Zhang Jun, China’s representative to the U.N.
The U.S. has urged China to join the West in sanctions against Russia aimed at pressuring President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. China has refused to condemn Russia or refer to its offensive as an invasion. Chinese officials say NATO expansion pressured Russia into striking Ukraine last month.
8 die in shelling of Kyiv shopping center
Russian shelling destroyed a shopping center near the city center of Kyiv, killing eight people and injuring at least one, according to emergency officials. The force of the blasts shattered every window in a neighboring high-rise in the densely populated Podil district.
Despite a ”continued lack of progress,” Kyiv remains Russia’s primary military objective, according to British military officials. Heavy fighting continues north of the city in north-central Ukraine, but “the bulk” of Russian forces remain more than 15 miles from the center of the city, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update.
“Russian forces advancing on the city from the north-east have stalled,” the update reads. “Forces advancing from the direction of Hostomel to the north-west have been repulsed by fierce Ukrainian resistance.”
The ministry says Russia will likely prioritize attempts to encircle the city in the coming weeks.
– Bailey Schulz
President Biden to travel to Poland on Friday but won’t visit Ukraine
President Joe Biden will travel to Poland this week after Thursday meetings with NATO, G7 and EU leaders in Brussels. On Friday, Biden will travel to Warsaw, where he will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda to discuss how the U.S. and its allies are “responding to the humanitarian and human rights crisis that Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war on Ukraine has created,” a White House statement read.
Over 2 million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring Poland as refugees, according to the United Nations.
Biden’s trip to Europe will not include a stop in Ukraine, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki tweeted Sunday.
– Celina Tebor
Israel balancing ‘complex considerations’ with Ukraine, Russia
After Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for help and a stronger stance against Russia’s attack from Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the country is managing its involvement with Ukraine and Russia “in a sensitive, generous and responsible way while balancing various and complex considerations.”
Israel has condemned Russia’s invasion but has refrained from taking action that would anger Moscow out of concern of jeopardizing its military coordination in neighboring Syria, according to the Associated Press.
In a video address to the Israeli parliament Sunday, Zelenskyy urged the lawmakers to take action against Russia and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to carry out a “final solution” against Ukraine. The term was used by Nazi Germany for its genocide of some 6 million Jews during World War II.
“Our people are now wandering in the world, seeking security as you once did,” said Zelenskyy, who is Jewish.
– Bailey Schulz
New Zealand offers non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine
New Zealand plans to provide $5 million New Zealand dollars ($3.5 million) in non-lethal military assistance to support Ukraine. Funds will primarily go toward the NATO Trust Fund, which provides fuel, military rations, first aid kits and more to Ukraine.
“This is the first time New Zealand has provided direct funding to a third party organization for non-lethal military assistance of this kind,” Prime Minister Jacinda said in a statement. “By contributing directly to the NATO Trust Fund, Ukrainian forces on the ground can benefit from the additional assistance immediately.”
New Zealand will also make a variety of surplus defense equipment available to share with Ukraine, including body armor, helmets and vests.
– Bailey Schulz
Deputy national security adviser: US can broaden sanctions against Russia
Deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh said Sunday that the U.S. has the ability to broaden its sanctions against Russia.
“(We can) take the measures, take the sanctions we’ve already applied, apply them in more targets. Apply them to more sectors,” Singh told CBS’ 60 Minutes. “More banks, more sectors that we haven’t touched.”
“It’s mostly about oil and gas, but there are other sectors, too,” he said. “I don’t want to specify them, but I think (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would know what those are.”
When asked what Putin would need to do to have sanctions lifted, Singh said “we’re nowhere near that point.”
“The first thing (Putin) has to do is to stop a reckless and barbaric attack on the civilians of Ukraine,” he said. “That’s not happening.”
– Bailey Schulz
What is a war of attrition?
Following weeks of Russian forces besieging residential cities and the Ukrainian military attempting to sever supply lines, Western governments and analysts say Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is beginning to become a war of attrition. But what does that mean?
Attrition warfare refers to wearing down an opponent to the point of exhaustion. One of the most well-known examples of a war of attrition was World War I, which consisted of lengthy and prolonged battles, largely fought in trenches.
Britain’s defense intelligence chief said last week Russia was shifting to a ”strategy of attrition” after unexpected pushback from Ukrainian forces and failure to capture its largest cities. Chief of Defense Intelligence Lt. Gen. Jim Hockenhull said Russian forces’ new strategy “will involve the reckless and indiscriminate use of firepower. This will result in increased civilian casualties, destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure and intensify the humanitarian crisis.”
Mariupol’s city council accused the Russian military of bombing an art school Sunday where about 400 people had taken shelter. Days earlier, Russian forces bombed a theater in the strategic port city where civilians took shelter.
– Celina Tebor
More coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- U.S.-China relations: Biden warns Xi of supporting Russia as US-China relations face ‘crossroads’ over Ukraine invasion
- A ‘cold-blooded’ alliance? China could be a pivotal force in Russia’s war against Ukraine
- Graham calls for Putin assassination: Even discussing it brings danger to US, experts say.
- ‘Please help us’: Weary voices call from Mariupol, where bodies line streets
- American sacrifices: We rationed gas during WWII and the 1970s oil shocks. Will that happen in ‘Putin’s war’?
Contributing: Associated Press
