Ukraine rejects Kremlin’s call to surrender Mariupol amid intense street fighting

The fate of Ukrainian port city Mariupol remained uncertain Monday, after it rejected Moscow’s ultimatum to surrender after weeks of Russian bombardments and days of street-by-street guerrilla warfare. Russia is bent on seizing Mariupol — which would be its first strategic victory in a war that appears to be approaching a stalemate in many other parts of the country — and has threatened the city with more assaults and a “military tribunal."

Even so, Britain’s Defense Ministry said Monday that “Kyiv remains Russia’s primary military objective” and that Moscow is likely to try to encircle the capital in the coming weeks. Russian forces bombed a mall in central Kyiv on Sunday night, burying several people in rubble and killing eight. Kyiv’s mayor imposed a two-night curfew. Military experts have warned that the Kremlin could turn to progressively deadlier siege tactics and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities and civilians to compensate for its lack of battlefield progress in the 26-day-long war.

The human toll of the war continues to climb – roughly one in four people in Ukraine have been forced to leave their homes — as diplomatic efforts towards a resolution have made only minimal advances. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on Sunday ruled out any U.S. military participation in a proposed NATO peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. President Biden is heading to Europe this week for a summit with other NATO leaders and a visit to Poland to discuss the war.