Moscow. April 5. INTERFAX - The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation proposed to the Ukrainian formations in Mariupol on April 5 to lay down their arms, promised to save their lives.
"The Armed Forces of Russia, proceeding purely from humane principles, offer units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Armed Forces of Ukraine), territorial defense battalions and foreign mercenaries to cease hostilities from 06:00 Moscow time on April 5 to save civilians," said Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation.
According to him, the Ukrainian formations in Mariupol were asked to "lay down their arms and go out along the route agreed with the Ukrainian side in the Zaporozhye direction to the territories controlled by Kiev."
"All those who have laid down their weapons are guaranteed the preservation of life," Mizintsev said.
According to Mizintsev, the Russian military propose to establish from 09:00 on April 5 "continuous communication between the Russian and Ukrainian sides for mutual exchange of information"; from 09:30 on the part of the Russian army, the DPR forces and the Ukrainian military to declare a "regime of complete silence"; from 10:00 to 13:00 to hold an "exit all, without exception, Ukrainian armed units and foreign mercenaries, without any weapons and ammunition."
"The actual beginning of the "silence regime" is 09:30 Moscow time, at the exit from Mariupol towards Mangush, both sides are indicated by raising flags: from the Russian side - red, from the Ukrainian side - white along the entire contact line," Mizintsev said.
He said that Moscow is counting on Ankara's support on the issue of the laying down of arms by Ukrainian forces in Mariupol.
"We count on the support of the Turkish side in this difficult issue," he said.
"We express the hope that our Turkish colleagues, using their authority, will be able to influence by all possible means both the representatives of the Kiev authorities and directly the commanders of the Ukrainian armed formations remaining in Mariupol," Mizintsev said.
He said that over the entire period, more than 125 thousand people were evacuated from Mariupol without the participation of Kiev, more than 1.7 thousand per day.
Earlier, Mizintsev said that in recent days Russia had announced humanitarian corridors from Mariupol for the evacuation of the population, blamed the Ukrainian authorities for disrupting their work.
In particular, Mizintsev stated that the Russian army opened humanitarian corridors in Mariupol on March 31, April 1 and 2 after the personal appeal of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to Mizintsev, the humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of foreign citizens from Mariupol was opened last Sunday at the request of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the President of the Russian Federation.
On April 2, Mizintsev accused the International Committee of the Red Cross of destructive work during the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol.
Mariupol is located on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov, it is one of the largest commercial sea ports in Ukraine. Almost 500 thousand people lived in the city.
On March 21, Mizintsev said that more than 130 thousand residents remain in Mariupol.
The Russian military previously reported fighting in the center of Mariupol. On March 11, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced the narrowing of the encirclement ring around Mariupol by units of the Donetsk People's Republic. Before that, the Russian military reported taking control of a number of neighborhoods.
On February 24, the President of the Russian Federation announced the beginning of a special military operation in Ukraine.
In response, many countries have imposed large-scale sanctions against Russia.
