Ukraine president says situation in Mariupol remains ‘extremely severe’ as Moscow tells port city’s remaining defenders to ‘surrender or die’
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Stay or go?
The question was a difficult one for Ukrainian officials in occupied areas, when deciding whether to follow President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s lead after he made the decision to remain in Kyiv as Russia invaded.
During occupation the main thing is to preserve life, and the people most in danger are the heads of the city. If the city is occupied, what should the mayor do, what should the team do? There was no single algorithm. Nobody gave us any orders. Everyone acted as they felt right.”
The situation in Mariupol is difficult and hard. Fighting is happening right now. The Russian army is constantly calling on additional units to storm the city.”