Top developments in Ukraine war: Fight intensifies at Mariupol; US President Biden to visit Poland

Fighting at the besieged port city of Mariupol intensified on Monday, with Ukraine refusing to lay down arms and surrender. The Russians had asked the Ukrainian forces to exit the city via humanitarian corridors set up for civilians. However, the proposal was quickly rejected Kyiv even before the morning deadline instated Moscow.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden will travel to Poland this week to discuss international efforts to support Ukraine and “impose severe and unprecedented costs on Russia” for its invasion, the White House has said. The discussions will follow Biden’s meetings in Brussels, Belgium with Nato allies, G7 leaders, and European Union leaders.
Of the millions of refugees that have fled to Poland to escape the war, most cross over to other countries through the Warsaw Railway Station, where apart from getting hot food and emotional support, the arrivals are welcomed to shoot darts at Putin’s head, free of charge, The Indian Express’ Krishn Kaushik reported from Warsaw, the Polish capital.
Ukrainians escaping from the besieged city of Mariupol along with other passengers from Zaporizhzhia arrive at Lviv, western Ukraine, on Sunday, March 20, 2022. (AP)
Here are the top developments in the Russia-Ukraine war:
🔴 Russian Col Gen Mikhail Mizintsev on Sunday asked Ukrainian soldiers to lay down arms and stated they “will be guaranteed a safe exit from Mariupol.” Mizintsev added that Russia will wait until 5 am Monday for a written Kyiv’s response to the Russian proposal.
🔴 Ukraine, however, quickly rejected the proposal, with Deputy Prime Miner saying, “there can be no talk about surrender and laying down weapons.” Mariupol Mayor Piotr Andryushchenko also rejected the offer shortly after it was made, saying he didn’t need to wait until the morning deadline to respond and cursing at the Russians.
A Ukrainian serviceman guards his position in Mariupol, Ukraine. (AP)
🔴 In the latest update on the war, the UK Minry of Defence said, “Russian forces advancing on the (Kyiv) city from the north-east have stalled. Forces advancing from the direction of Hostomel to the north-west have been repulsed fierce Ukrainian resance. The bulk of Russian forces remains more than 25 kilometres from the centre of the city.”
🔴Shelling Russians has also hit residential houses and a shopping drict in Kyiv’s Podil drict. According to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, at least eight people were killed in the incident.

Firefighters extinguish a fire at a shopping center following a bombing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, March 21, 2022. (AP)
🔴 In a video address early Monday morning, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the bombing of an art school in Mariupol Russians. He added that as many as 400 civilians were taking shelter at the school when it was attacked. “They are under the rubble, and we don’t know how many of them have survived,” Zelenskyy was quoted as saying AP.
🔴 The White House on Sunday said US President Joe Biden will be visiting Poland. The visit will be a stop in his trip this week to Europe for urgent talks with NATO and European allies regarding the Ukraine crisis.
A woman walking in a street is visible through a roof of a building hit shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 20, 2022. (AP)
🔴 Israel’s Prime Miner Naftali Bennett on Monday stated that his country is managing its involvement with Ukraine and Russia “in a sensitive, generous and responsible way while balancing various and complex considerations.” This came just a day after Zelenskyy had urged Israel to send Ukraine weapons and impose sanctions on Russia.
🔴 Ukraine has said that amid talks with Russia, as many as eight humanitarian corridors have been agreed upon for people to leave cities, not including Mariupol, on Monday. A day before, Zelenskyy said 7,295 Ukrainians were evacuated from zones of combat, including nearly 4,000 from Mariupol.