Day 27: Zelensky rejects Russian ultimatum, urges talks with Putin

Ukraine says it will not obey ultimatums from Russia after Moscow demanded it stops defending besieged Mariupol which has become a focal point of the conflict.

The conflict has driven almost a quarter of Ukraine's 44 million people from their homes, and Germany predicted the refugee number could reach as high as 10 million in the coming weeks.

Russia's military had ordered residents of Mariupol to surrender by 5 a.m. local time on Monday, saying those who did so could leave, while those who stayed would be handed to tribunals run by Moscow-backed separatists.

President Volodymyr Zelensky's government responded that it would never bow to ultimatums. "There can be no question of any surrender" in Mariupol, said Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.

Zelensky said it would not be possible to negotiate an end to the war in his country without meeting Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.

He also repeated his acknowledgment made earlier this month that Ukraine could not now secure NATO membership.

Since Russian troops poured into Ukraine last month, Zelensky has issued increasingly urgent calls for talks to end the fighting.

Mariupol, a port city on the Sea of Azov that was home to 400,000 people, has run short of food, medicine, power and water.  

MG