Last Updated: April 21, 2022
- By Current Time
During a televised meeting on April 21, Shoigu told Putin that "all of Mariupol is under the control of the Russian Army" and Moscow-backed separatists, while the Azovstal plant "is securely sealed off" after weeks of heavy bombardment and intense fighting throughout the city, where tens of thousands of civilians are trapped amid what aid workers have called "apocalyptic" conditions.
Shoigu told Putin that more than 2,000 Ukrainian fighters were still holed up in the vast plant, which has a large underground component to it, and claimed that Russian forces only needed several days to "complete" the takeover of the compound.
Putin said during the meeting it would be "impractical" to storm the huge industrial complex as there was "no need to climb into those catacombs and crawl underground beneath those industrial facilities."
Shoigu said that more than 142,000 civilians were evacuated from the Sea of Azov port through humanitarian corridors -- a claim contradicted by Ukrainian officials who said that only a small number of refugees have been allowed to leave the city since the start of the war on February 24.
Earlier on April 21, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said only four buses carrying evacuees left Mariupol on April 20 instead of a planned 90 buses expected to transport 6,000 people due to the Russian forces' "disorganization and negligence."
She said in a statement on Telegram that the evacuation of women, children, and the elderly would continue on April 21.
Meanwhile, Russian troops continued their all-out offensive in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv proposed to hold a "special round" of negotiations in Mariupol.
A British military update on April 21 said that Russian forces are advancing from staging areas in the Donbas toward the city of Kramatorsk, which continues to be hit by rocket fire.
"High levels of Russian air activity continue as it seeks to provide close air support to its offensive in eastern Ukraine, and to suppress and destroy Ukrainian air defense capabilities," Britain's Ministry of Defense tweeted in a regular bulletin.
After failing to seize Kyiv and other large and strategic cities in its nearly eight-week war, Moscow now says its aim is to capture the full provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, which have been the focus of Russia-backed separatists since 2014.
Chief Ukrainian negotiator and presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said the Ukrainian side is ready to hold the talks without conditions.
Another key Ukrainian negotiator, David Arakhamia, said on Telegram that he and Podolyak "are ready to arrive in Mariupol to hold talks with the Russian side on the evacuation of our military garrison and civilians."
Arakhamia said that he and Podolyak were in constant contact with Ukrainian forces in the city.
"Today, in a conversation with the city defenders, a proposal was put forward to hold direct negotiations, on site, on the evacuation of our military garrison," he said.
Russia said earlier that it had presented Ukraine with a draft document outlining its demands for ending the conflict.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “the ball is in their court. We’re waiting for a response.” He gave no details on the draft.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had not seen or heard of the proposal, though one of his top advisers said the Ukrainian side was reviewing it.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told broadcaster TV2 during a visit to Kyiv on April 21 with her Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez, that Denmark will deliver more weapons to Ukraine. Frederiksen did not give any further details about the weapons supply.
In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden convened U.S. military leaders in an annual White House policy meeting that took on special significance amid the war in Ukraine.
A "variety of topics" were set to be discussed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other senior military leaders, a National Security Council spokesperson said.
Opening the meeting, Biden touted the toughness of the Ukrainian military and said that NATO's unity has shocked Putin.
"They're tougher and more proud than I thought; I'm amazed what they're doing with your help," Biden said. "I don't think that Putin counted on it being able to hold us together."
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