BREAKING NEWS: Russia offers to spare Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol if they surrender

Russia has issued a surrender ultimatum to Ukrainian troops seeking to defend the southern city of Mariupol.

Ukrainian forces in Mariupol were told their lives would be spared if they lay down their arms on Sunday morning, Russia’s defence ministry said.

The city, which has been under siege for weeks, is only under partial Ukrainian control.

On Saturday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that Ukrainian forces held control of just a small portion of the city, saying his government was in daily contact with those defenders.

Ukraine’s armed forces say its naval units are preparing for a Russian landing operation in the Mariupol area, after it said Russia conducted assault operations near the seaport.

Earlier, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that eliminating Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol would put an end to peace talks to end the war.

In its latest intelligence update, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said that despite Russia continuing to redeploy forces to eastern Ukraine, its “ultimate objective remains the same” and that it was “committed … to asserting its own regional dominance”.

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