Russia says Ukrainian fighters at Azot plant can surrender on Wednesday

Russia's Defence Ministry said it had offered Ukrainian fighters sheltering in the Azot chemical plant in the eastern Ukrainian town of Sievierodonetsk the chance to surrender on Wednesday. Both the town and the Azot plant have become flashpoints of the conflict in recent weeks, with hundreds of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers holed up in the factory under intense shelling from Russian forces trying to capture the town, local authorities say.

Russia's Defense Ministry said it had offered Ukrainian fighters sheltering in the Azot chemical plant in the eastern Ukrainian town of Sievierodonetsk the chance to surrender on Wednesday.

Both the town and the Azot plant have become flashpoints of the conflict in recent weeks, with hundreds of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers holed up in the factory under intense shelling from Russian forces trying to capture the town, local authorities say. Russia said on Tuesday it would open a humanitarian corridor from 0500 GMT on Wednesday to allow civilians to leave, and urged Ukrainian fighters to "stop their senseless resistance and lay down their arms" at the same time.

All the bridges over the Siverskyi Donets river linking Sievierodonetsk to Ukrainian-held territory have been destroyed. In the statement announcing the call to surrender, Russia's Defence Ministry accused Ukrainian fighters of using the civilians in the Azot plant as human shields. Moscow has made similar accusations, rejected by Kyiv, several times since it sent its troops into Ukraine in February.

The Defence Ministry said it had informed Kyiv of its offer and urged the authorities to give the order to surrender. The situation at the Azot ("Nitrogen") plant echoes the battles that raged earlier in the conflict over the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol, where hundreds of fighters and civilians took shelter from Russian shelling. Those inside eventually surrendered and were taken into Russian custody in mid-May.