Ukrainian officials hav rejected a Russian demand for surrender in Mariupol in exchange for safe passage out of the surrounded city.
The Russian bombardment of Mariupol has intensified in an effort to coax a surrender, despite floundering forces in other parts of the country.
In Kyiv, a shopping center was destroyed by Russian shelling over the weekend. At least eight people died and rubble scatters the area. A chemical plant in northeastern Ukraine was also shelled, according to Ukrainian authorities, which caused an ammonia leak.
Mariupol, a strategic port city on the Sea of Azov has seen some of the worst attacks of the war, now entering its fourth week. Just prior to Russia's proposal of surrender, a strike hit a local school providing shelter to some 400 people.
Despite the shelling, Ukrainian government officials felt strongly that they could not accept terms of surrender from Vladimir Putin's army. "There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms. We have already informed the Russian side about this," Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk told the news outlet Ukrainian Pravda.
The Mayor of Mariupol, Piotr Andryushchenko, emphatically concurred with deputy prime minister's assessment.
For the past several days, fighting in Mariupol has become so intense that humanitarian convoys have not been able to make their way in, leaving the city's food and water supply running low.
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