More than an hour before the expiration of the ultimatum issued by the Russian army to the fortified Ukrainian defenders in the besieged city of Mariupol to surrender, the Russian Air Force launched a heavy bombardment on the Azobestal steel plant, where the Ukrainian fighters are located.
According to reports from the city, backed by videotaped evidence, heavy strategic bombers of the "Topolov 22" model dropped bombs on the areas of the huge steel plant used by the Ukrainian forces.
At the same time, Russian cannons and tanks opened fire at the defenders' positions.
Earlier, Mariupol's adviser to Petro Adryuchenko rejected the ultimatum issued by the Russians to the fighters, saying the Ukrainians would continue to defend the city.
A statement from the Russian Defense Ministry said: "We have offered the Ukrainians to voluntarily lay down their arms and surrender in exchange for our lives, but the nationalist government in Kiev has rejected any possibility of negotiations and has banned fighters from communicating with us."
In a statement, the Russians added that "there are 400 foreign mercenaries who have joined the Ukrainians in Mariupol."
Dennis Malihin, a Ukrainian fighter who served in Mariupol but was evacuated last week, told Israel Today: "Our fighters continue to defend the Azobstal factory against all odds. They lack ammunition, food and dressing equipment. They are well fortified in bunkers and underground tunnels and will continue to do so. "To inflict casualties on the enemy and hit him as much as they can. The world needs to look at Mariupol and ask itself what the next target of Russian aggression will be."
Unprecedented destruction
The Ukrainian fighters fortified in the huge steel plant in the northeastern part of the city use tunnels and bunkers to fend off attack after attack by the Russian army, but they suffer from a severe shortage of ammunition, food and medical equipment.
Last week Ukrainian forces were able to partially break through the Russian siege and unite forces of the Ukrainian Marine Corps defending the city along with fighters from the Moss Moss, a volunteer force affiliated with the country’s far right, thus continuing to fight effectively.
Many fighters were forced to surrender after their ammunition ran out.
The Russian military has documented dozens of Ukrainian marines surrendering and being transferred from the front to the rear by Russian military forces.
The Russians also fell into the hands of several foreign volunteers as well as a famous fighter from one of the volunteer battalions who was known as an excellent sniper and was lightly wounded during the battles.
Civilians in Mariupol near a Russian tank, Photo: Reuters
After more than a month and a half under Russian siege, the city of Mariupol suffered unparalleled destruction in Europe since World War II.
According to reports from local residents, the Russian occupiers are forcing the civilian population in the city to work in clearing the rubble in exchange for food and evacuating people against their will to the territory of Russia.
For a month and a half, the city was cut off from electricity and water supply, and the remaining residents suffered from shortages and the destruction of their homes.
The Ministry of Immigration and Absorption announces that at the end of a three-week rescue campaign, a special flight landed in Israel last Friday with 87 Jews (including two adults, one of them Holocaust survivors) fleeing the fortified city of Mariupol.
As is well known, the inhabitants of Mariupol, including many of the Jewish community, have been under siege for several weeks, which has deepened in recent days, when a few hours ago the ultimatum issued by the Russians to Ukrainian soldiers to surrender came into effect.
Minister of Immigration and Absorption Pnina Temano Sheta expressed deep concern for the fate of the Jews of Mariupol and is in close contact with all relevant parties.
Attack on Luhansk
In the morning, the Ukrainian army launched a counterattack in the northern part of Luhansk Oblast, near the city of Sverdansk.
According to media reports in Ukraine, the counterattack focused on the towns of Karmina, Rubizhna and Svyatohirsk and according to some reports the attackers managed to repel the Russian forces a few kilometers away.
In response, the Russians launched a heavy shelling of the town of Adbika south of there.
In addition, Russian military shelling of the city of Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, killed five people during the past day. In addition, a team of saboteurs was killed while trying to dismantle a cluster bomb in a built-up area north of the city.
Also in the Kharkiv sector, Ukrainian army forces launched a limited counterattack in the direction of Kotozivka, Byrek and Mala Rohan.
Destruction in Mariupol, Photo: AP
The Ukrainian army reported that in the last day no less than ten Russian ground attacks have been launched in the Donbas region, mainly in the Luhansk region near the city of Sverdansk.
The statement said at least 15 tanks, 24 armored vehicles and three artillery shells had been destroyed in the attacks.
In addition, the media in Russia announced the death of Major General Vladimir Prolov, who was killed in recent days on the fighting front in Donetsk Oblast and was buried in a state ceremony yesterday in the city of St. Petersburg.
Prolov was the deputy commander of the Eighth Army of the Russian Army, a central force on the southern battle front.
While the Russians continued to infiltrate forces to aid the faltering attack in eastern Ukraine, the United States began to transfer heavy weapons to Kyiv.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced this morning that Washington has begun transferring 155-millimeter Hovitzer cannons, along with transport helicopters purchased for the Afghan army to the Ukrainians.
In addition, 300 Switchblade suicide drone launch systems were handed over to the Ukrainian army.
Meanwhile, Russian authorities yesterday released documentation of sailors from the Russian navy's flagship in the Black Sea "Moscow" that sank after being attacked by missiles last week.
The video shows the captain of the ship alongside several dozen sailors.
In Russia it is claimed that the entire crew of the ship successfully evacuated from it, but only a few dozen sailors from a crew of over 500 were smashed in the video.
Participated in the preparation of the article: Dan Lavie
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