Russian forces advancing on the Ukraine capital Kyiv from the northeast have stalled, British intelligence said on Monday (March 21), as Ukraine rejected Russian calls for defenders to lay down their arms in the besieged city of Mariupol.
Russian shells hit houses and a shopping district in Kyiv’s Podil district late on Sunday killing at least four people, city authorities said, following a relative lull in the fighting over the weekend.
“There can be no question of any surrender, laying down of arms,” said Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk in response to Moscow’s offer to let Mariupol residents leave the city if they surrender their weapons.
“We have already informed the Russian side about this,” said Ms Vereshchuk, according to the Ukrainska Pravda news portal.
The assault on Ukraine started with Russian troops crossing the border or landing by sea and air on Feb. 24. But Western countries say Russia’s expectations of a swift victory and the removal of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government have been dashed and its invasion force has got bogged down.
Ukraine and its Western backers say Russian ground forces have made few advances in the past week, concentrating their efforts on artillery and missile strikes — often into urban centres.
The bulk of Russian forces remain more than 25 km (15 miles) from the centre of the Kyiv, British military intelligence said.
“Heavy fighting continues north of Kyiv,” the Ministry of Defence said. “Forces advancing from the direction of Hostomel to the northwest have been repulsed by fierce Ukrainian resistance.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin says the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two is “a special military operation” to stop the Ukrainian government from committing “genocide” — an accusation the West calls a baseless fabrication.
The humanitarian crisis in the port city of Mariupol, where residents are besieged with little food, water and power, is increasing pressure on European leaders to toughen sanctions on Moscow.
Russian offered to open humanitarian corridors from the city from 10 am Moscow time (3pm, Singapore time) on Monday if residents lay down arms. Russia and Ukraine have made agreements throughout the war on exit corridors but accuse each other of violations.
Mariupol has suffered some of the heaviest bombardments since Russia invaded. Many of its 400,000 residents remain trapped as the fighting rages.
Ms Vereshchuk said more than 7,000 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors on Sunday, more than half from Mariupol. She said the government planned to send nearly 50 buses there on Monday for more evacuations.
