Moscow set 3am GMT time for Ukrainian fighters to lay down arms in Mariupol; Zelenskiy warns ‘extermination’ of city’s defenders would jeopardise peace talks
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Russia told Ukrainian forces fighting in Mariupol to lay down arms on Sunday morning to save their lives, but there were no immediate reports of activity two hours after the ultimatum took effect at 3am GMT in the strategic southeastern port.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed it had all but taken control of Mariupol, aside from a few Ukrainian defenders left in a steel plant, but the claim could not be independently verified. It would be the first major city to have fallen to Russian forces since the invasion which began on 24 February