Russia on Sunday night demanded that Ukrainians in the besieged city of Mariupol lay down their arms in exchange for safe passage out of town, but Ukraine rejected the offer, The Associated Press reported.
The Russian demand came hours after Ukrainian authorities said Moscow’s forces bombed an art school that was sheltering about 400 people.
Russian forces said they would allow two corridors out of the coastal city, heading either east toward Russia or west to other parts of Ukraine, the TASS news agency reported, citing a statement from Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defense Control Center.
TASS reported that Mariupol residents had been given until 5 a.m. Monday to respond to the offer.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk swiftly rejected the notion.
“There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms. We have already informed the Russian side about this,” she stated, according to AP. “I wrote: `Instead of wasting time on eight pages of letters, just open the corridor."
The Russian demand came hours after Ukrainian authorities said Russia's military bombed an art school in Mariupol.
Mariupol has come under constant attack in recent days. Last week, Ukrainian officials said that the theater in Mariupol had been struck by Russian forces. Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said hundreds of civilians had been hiding inside the theater, calling the bombing a "horrendous war crime."
As of Friday, rescue work was still ongoing to save hundreds of people still believed to be trapped under the rubble of the theater.
City officials and aid groups say that food, water and electricity have run low in Mariupol and fighting has kept out humanitarian convoys. Communications are severed.
The strategic port on the Sea of Azov has been under bombardment for over three weeks and has seen some of the worst horrors of the war. City officials said at least 2,300 people have died, with some buried in mass graves.