Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged that the situation in Mariupol is very dangerous and that Ukrainian forces control only a small part of the city, but he said his government is in daily contact with the city's defenders. This followed reports that Russia had given Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol hours to lay down their weapons in exchange for a guarantee of their safety. And the steel is on the outskirts of the city. The Ukrainian president stressed that his government is in daily contact with the fighters there. A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said that about 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers were inside the factory, and Russian forces prevented their exit, according to the Russian news agency TASS.
