Mariupol's fate is cast. The Ukrainian resistance that has defended the city since the first day of the war has run out of food and ammunition. When it falls, Russia will score the most important victory in the two months of war.
Russia demands these soldiers to surrender today. They have from six this morning until thirteen o'clock. They have to go out with their arms raised and unarmed. The Russian high command assures them that this is the only way to save their lives. If they do not lay down their arms today, tomorrow, Monday, they will no longer be able to do so and their only option will be to continue fighting to the last man.
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The Ukrainian military has not responded to this proposal.
President Volodomir Zelensky has warned that no member of his government will sit down at the negotiating table again if the 2,500 soldiers entrenched in Mariupol, the Black Sea city on the Donbass border, are killed.
They belong to the Azov Regiment and the 36th Independent Marine Brigade. They are isolated in two pockets, one in the port and the other in the large industrial complex of the Azovstal steelworks, one of the largest in the country.
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During the 50-day long siege they have been able to hold out, in large part, thanks to a network of Soviet-era tunnels and bunkers. From them, at nightfall, they have been able to attack the Russian patrols that were trying to secure the territory.
Zelensky says that tens of thousands of people have died in the city, almost all of them soldiers who have defended it to the end.
The Russian military may have used chemical agents in Mariupol. The Azov regiment says several of its men fell ill after coming into contact with what appeared to be tear gas.
Russia denies the use of chemical weapons. It would mean an escalation that would surely lead to a military response from the United States and its allies.
There is no way to verify that chemical agents have been used in Mariúol. However, a leader of Moscow's ally Donbass said so a few days ago, and Ukrainian sources say that the FSB, the Russian security service, has arrested him for talking too much.
Zelensky has been saying for some time that the only way to break the siege of Mariupol was with more weapons. However, all that has arrived and continues to arrive in Ukraine has not been enough in the face of the clear superiority of Russian artillery and rockets.
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Today, for example, the weapons from the latest US aid package are entering the Ukraine and they will not be used to retake Mariupol, but rather to confront the announced Russian offensive in Donbass. These are 11 Mi-17 helicopters, more than 18,000 Howitzer cannons and about 300 drones.