First and second, two Reuters reports, from Lviv and Washington. Third, an Associated Press report from Lviv. Fourth, a TeleSUR package. Fifth, a Reuters story updated at 4 p.m. EDT. — MCM
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Ukraine defies Russian demand to lay down arms in Mariupol, by Pavel Polityuk | Reuters * ‘Lay down your arms’ before dawn, Russian general says * Ukraine says ‘no question of surrender’ in Mariupol * Hundreds of thousands of civilian trapped under siege LVIV, Ukraine — Ukraine defied a Russian demand that its forces lay down arms before dawn on Monday in Mariupol, where hundreds of thousands of civilians have been trapped in a city under siege and already laid to waste by Russian bombardment. Russia’s military had ordered Ukrainians inside the besieged southeastern city to surrender by 5 a.m., saying that those who do so would be permitted to leave through safe corridors. “There can be no question of any surrender, laying down of arms” in the city, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk responded. “We have already informed the Russian side about this.” Russia’s assault on Ukraine, now in its fourth week, has stalled along most fronts. Russia has failed to seize a single major . . . READ MORE . . .
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Pressed to choose sides on Ukraine, China trade favors the West, by David Lawder | Reuters WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden’s warning of “consequences” for any aid China may give to Russia’s Ukraine war effort could force Chinese President Xi Jinping to choose between a longstanding lucrative trade relationship with the West and a growing strategic partnership with Moscow. Based on trade flows alone . . . READ MORE . . .
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Ukraine rejects Russian demand for surrender in Mariupol, by Cara Anna | The Associated Press LVIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials defiantly rejected a Russian demand that their forces in Mariupol lay down arms and raise white flags Monday in exchange for safe passage out of the besieged strategic port city. Even as Russia intensified its attempt to bombard Mariupol into surrender, its offensive in other parts of Ukraine has floundered. Western governments and analysts see the broader conflict grinding into a war of attrition, with Russia continuing to barrage cities. In the capital Kyiv, Russian shelling devastated a shopping center near the city center, killing at least eight people and leaving a sea of rubble amid scarred high-rises. Ukrainian authorities also said Russia shelled a chemical plant in northeastern Ukraine, causing an ammonia leak, and hit a military training base in the west with cruise missiles. The encircled southern city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov has seen some of the worst horrors of the war, under Russian pounding for more than three weeks. Strikes hit an art school sheltering some 400 people only hours before Russia’s offer to open two corridors out of the city in return for the capitulation of its defenders, according to Ukrainian officials. Ukrainian officials rejected the Russian proposal for safe passage out of Mariupol even before Russia’s deadline of 5 a.m. Moscow time (0200GMT) for a response came and went. READ MORE . . .
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Russia Says Nationalists Provoke With Toxic Chemicals in Ukraine, From TeleSUR — Ukrainian nationalist forces are preparing provocations with dangerous chemicals at at least two locations in Ukraine, for which they plan to hold the Russian military responsible, Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia’s National Defense Management Center, has said. “In Sumy, nationalists have mined the ammonia and chlorine storage facilities of the SumyJimProm chemical plant with the aim of mass poisoning the residents of the Sumy region in case the Russian Armed Forces enter the city,” the military official reported. In addition, the nationalists are preparing provocations with toxic chemicals in the village of Kotliarovo, Nikolayev region, southern Ukraine. READ MORE . . .
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Russia may not stop with Ukraine — NATO looks to its weakest link, by Sabina Siebold and Robin Emmett * NATO is back defending against its original nemesis, but this time it’s different * Baltic region’s new NATO members vulnerable from land and sea * Mines, container ship accident, could seal them off * With China, Russia in concert, alliance is at turning point * NATO “thought that there wouldn’t be an enemy anymore” ON BOARD THE SUPPLY SHIP ELBE, Latvia — Hours after Russian missiles first struck Ukrainian cities on Feb. 24, German naval commander Terje Schmitt-Eliassen received notice to sail five warships under his command to the former Soviet Republic of Latvia to help protect the . . . READ MORE . . .