On the 25th day (local time), the 25th day of the invasion, Russia demanded an immediate surrender of Ukrainian forces defending the southeastern port city of Mariupol, Reuters reported.
According to Reuters, Mikhail Mijinchev, commander of the National Defense Management Center, a command center under the General Staff of Russia (JCS), said at a briefing on the same day that “a terrible humanitarian disaster is happening.” I’ll get you out of Upol,” he said.
He added that the ‘Humanitarian Corridor’ to the east and west of Mariupol will be open from 10:00 am (4:00 pm Korean time) on the 21st Moscow time.
As civilian casualties surged during the intensive attack on Mariupol, Russia issued an ultimatum to the Ukrainian army.
In fact, in Mariupol on the 16th, a Russian airstrike destroyed a theater building where more than 1,000 residents had been evacuated, and it is said that hundreds of people were buried in the building. It is also reported that the building of the art school where 400 residents were damaged was destroyed in the bombing on that day as well.
Russia’s onslaught on Mariupol is to connect the eastern part of Ukraine occupied by pro-Russian rebels with Crimea, which Russia annexed by force from Ukraine in 2014. This is because if Mariupol falls into Russian waters, the overland corridor connecting Crimea and the Donbas region will be completed.
Since Mariupol is such a strategic point, Ukraine is also doing its best to defend the city. However, some media analyzes that the charter has already turned to Russia.
The Washington Post reported that “Ukrainian forces are losing control of the city as Russian forces have advanced deep into the city.”
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian soldier from Mariupol, who was on the brink of fall, left a desperate message to the United States and Western countries, asking for help.
On this day, a video titled ‘Last Message from Mariupol’ was posted on the online community ‘Reddit’.
In the video, which appears to have been filmed on the 18th, a Ukrainian soldier said that the ruins of Mariupol were “totally destroyed by Russian helicopters” and “is in danger of disappearing from the earth soon.”
Calling the names of US President Joe Biden and French President Macron, he said, “Your help is desperately needed. The weapons and ammunition you promised have not arrived yet.” “Now we have to end the war. We have to save our citizens,” he said.
[이상규 매경닷컴 기자]
[ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
