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Mariupol Residents Evacuate as Russia Blocks Aid Convoy; Kyiv Declares Curfew

HeadlineMar 15, 2022

The mayor of Kyiv has declared a 35-hour curfew after a series of Russian missile strikes hit residential areas of Ukraine’s capital. At least two people died when a Russian missile hit a 16-story apartment complex. Meanwhile, intense fighting raged outside the capital as the Russian advance appeared to be stalled.

In southern Ukraine, a convoy of 160 cars was allowed to escape the besieged coastal city of Mariupol on Monday. But Russian troops reportedly refused to allow an aid convoy into the city. An adviser to Mariupol’s mayor says Russia’s two-week assault may have killed up to 20,000 people in the city — though it was impossible to verify the figure.

Today the prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia are traveling to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. On Monday, Zelensky spoke directly to the troops invading his country, saying in Russian that they should surrender.

President Volodymyr Zelensky: “On behalf of the Ukrainian people, we give you a chance to live. If you surrender to our forces, we will treat you as humans have to be treated: with dignity — the way you have not been treated in your army and the way your army doesn’t treat our people. Choose.”

Zelensky is set to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress by video link on Wednesday, where he’s expected to ask for more lethal weapons, and for the U.S. to broker a deal that would see MiG fighter jets transferred from Poland to Ukraine. Meanwhile, talks between Ukraine and Russia are resuming today.

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