Kyiv: Ukraine on Wednesday proposed to hold a “special round” negotiations with Russia in the city of Mariupol which was surrounded, said an official on Kyiv.
“Yes.
“One on one. Two in two. To save our people, Azov, military, civilians, children, who live & who are injured. Everyone. Because they belong to us. Forever.”
Other major Ukrainian negotiators, David Arakhamia, told the telegram that he and Podolya “were ready to arrive at Mariupol to hold talks with the Russian regarding the evacuation of our military and civilian garrison”.
As another desperate effort to evacuate civilians from Mariupol on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that “the situation in Mariupol deteriorated” with thousands of troops and civilians trapped in the city.
Earlier Wednesday, Svyatoslav Paluamar, a commander at the Azov Nationalist Regiment who had defended the city against the Siege of Russia, said his troops were ready to be evacuated together with civilians from the Strategic Southern Port.
“We are ready to be evacuated with the help of third-party from the city of Mariupol with our small arm,” Palamar said in the video posted on the telegram.
He added that the goal was “to evacuate the injured, get the bodies and to bury them with awards in a region that was not controlled by the Russian Federation.”
At the same time, Palamar said that the unit would not heed Russian demands for troops to give up completely with their weapons.
The Palamar calls for “the whole world of civilized to become our safety guarantor” in this negotiation.
There is no reaction directly from Moscow to the proposal.
Previously on that day, the other Azov commander at the Azovstal Steel Factory which was surrounded, Sergiy Volyna, issued a desperate request to ask for help, said his marine “might face our last days, if not hours”.
“The enemy exceeds our number 10 to one,” he said.