Russia has told Ukrainian soldiers in southern city to surrender as Ukraine president laments ‘inhuman’ situation there
Russia’s demand that Ukrainian forces in Mariupol surrender by 3am GMT passed without immediate signs of a response, as Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that peace talks would be scrapped if the city’s remaining defenders were killed.
As air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine, including in the Kyiv region, early on Sunday, Russia said its troops had cleared most of the besieged city, with only a small contingent of Ukrainian fighters remaining in the giant Azovstal steelworks in the south-eastern port, as missiles hit Kyiv and other cities.
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has travelled to Kyiv in a bid to restart peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, according to Bloomberg. The report, based on unnamed sources, said Abramovich had met Ukrainian negotiators in an attempt to rescue the flagging talks. A spokesperson for Abramovich has denied the report.
The mayor of Irpin, on the western edge of Kyiv, says more than 70% of buildings in the town have been damaged or destroyed by Russian forces, according to the Kyiv Independent. In a Telegram post Oleksandr Markushin said a UN study based on satellite data showed 115 buildings were completely destroyed, 698 were significantly damaged, and 187 were partially damaged.
A forthcoming sixth round of EU sanctions on Russia will target oil and banks, in particular Sberbank, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. The EU has so far spared Sberbank because it, along with Gazprombank, is one of the main channels for payments for Russian oil and gas.
