Ukraine is preparing to release Mariupol in Donetsk region by military means, but this requires help from international partners in the form of weapons. This was announced at a briefing by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, April 21.
Zelenskyy said that only two ways can be used to liberate Mariupol - diplomatic and military. Ukraine tried to agree on the exchange and withdrawal of people from the besieged city, but Russia did not agree, the President said.
"Unlocking the city of Mariupol, like other cities, is possible in just a few ways. There is a military path. We need to prepare for it. We are preparing to be powerful, and the help of our partners is needed here. It is difficult for us ourselves. We need the necessary weapons, but we are thinking about it," Zelenskyy stressed.
The President also said that civilians remain in Mariupol, but the Russian Federation continues to block attempts to evacuate them, and also refused to exchange "wounded for wounded."
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on April 21, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the "liberation of Mariupol," but admitted that more than 2,000 Ukrainian defenders remained in the city.
On April 20, adviser to the head of the President's Office, Mykhailo Podoliak, and the head of the Servant of the People faction in the Verkhovna Rada, David Arakhamia, confirmed their readiness to come to Mariupol (Donetsk region) for negotiations with Russian representatives on the evacuation of residents and Ukrainian military defending the city.
On April 18, Verkhovna Rada Member Viktor Medvedchuk, who was taken into custody, asked Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to exchange him for defenders and residents of Mariupol.
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