Ukrainians have rejected rejected Russian calls for defenders to lay down their arms in the besieged city of Mariupol.
“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 Vereshchuk, according to the Ukrainska Pravda news portal.
Meanwhile, Russian forces advancing on the Ukraine capital Kyiv from the northeast have stalled, according to a report by British intelligence on Monday.
EU leaders are to meet this week to consider a fifth round of tough sanctions against Russia including an oil embargo.
EU foreign ministers launched discussions on Monday, and U.S. President Joe Biden will arrive in Brussels on Thursday for summits with NATO’s 30 allies, as well as the EU and in a Group of Seven (G7) format including Japan.
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