KYIV—Ukraine has invited Russia to talks near the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, where Ukrainian fighters and civilians are holding out in a city largely under Moscow’s control, Kyiv said Sunday. Talks near the sprawling steel works would provide a dramatic and symbolic backdrop because the site is the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in the strategic port. Earlier in the day, Kyiv called for a truce in battered Mariupol for Orthodox Easter, celebrated in both Russia and Ukraine. “Russia is continuously attacking the Mariupol Azovstal. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces not to assault the plant this week, but to keep it under siege instead.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer April 25, 2022 04:20 UTC