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Ukraine refuses to surrender besieged Mariupol

Ukraine refuses to surrender besieged Mariupol
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Kyiv: Shelling in a Kyiv neighbourhood has devastated a shopping centre, leaving a flattened ruin still smoldering Monday morning in the midst of high-rise towers.

Emergency services reported at least four people were killed by the overnight shelling near the city centre late Sunday.

The force of the explosion shattered every window in the high-rise next door and twisted their metal frames.

In the distance, the sound of artillery rang out as firefighters picked their way through the destruction in the densely populated Podil district.

Key developments:

Russia demands Mariupol lay down arms but Ukraine says no.

No city anymore: Mariupol survivors take train to safety.

Biden adds stop in Poland, crucial ally in the Ukraine crisis, to his trip this week to Europe.

Other developments:

Lviv: An ammonia leak at a chemical plant in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy has contaminated an area with a radius of more than 2.5 kilometers (about 1.5 miles), officials said early Monday.

Sumy regional governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyy didn't say what caused the leak.

The Sumykhimprom plant is on the eastern outskirts of the city, which has a population of about 263,000 and has been regularly shelled by Russian troops in recent weeks.

For the center of Sumy, there is no threat now, since the wind does not blow on the city, said Zhyvytskyy.

He said the nearby village of Novoselytsya, about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) southeast of Sumy, is under threat.

Emergency crews were working to contain the leak.

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New York: The Russian military has offered the Ukrainian troops defending the strategic port of Mariupol to lay down arms and exit the city via humanitarian corridors, but that proposal was quickly rejected by the Ukrainian authorities.

Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said Sunday that all Ukrainian soldiers could leave the Azov Sea port Monday using safe routes for evacuating civilians that had been previously agreed with Ukraine and head to areas controlled by the Ukrainian authorities.

He said that all those who lay down arms 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 for the Ukrainian troops to leave Mariupol but didn't say what action Russia will take if its humanitarian offer is rejected.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in remarks carried by Ukrainska Pravda news outlet that Kyiv already had told Russia that there can be no talk about surrender and laying down weapons.

She rejected the Russian statement as manipulation.

Mizintsev said that the deliveries of humanitarian supplies to the city will immediately follow if the Ukrainian troops agree to leave the city. He added that civilians will be free to choose whether to leave Mariupol or stay in the city. (AP)

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