Moscow gave Mariupol until the early hours of Monday to surrender and “wanted to receive a written response from Kyiv” which was rejected by Ukraine.

Russian Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defence Control Centre, warned the civilians of Mariupol to decide where their allegiances lie or they will “face a military tribunal.”

There are thousands of residents trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol and have been for weeks with no food, water or any power.

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Russian Colonel-General Mizintsev urged Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, “Lay down your arms.

“A terrible humanitarian catastrophe has developed. All who lay down their arms are guaranteed safe passage out of Mariupol.”

“There can be no question of any surrender, laying down of arms,” the Ukrainska Pravda news portal cited Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk as saying early on Monday.

“We have already informed the Russian side about this.”

Colonel-General Mizintsez also called on the civilians of Mariupol to decide where their allegiances lie, according to RIA,

“Separately, the department appealed to the authorities of Mariupol, noting that now they have the right to make a historical choice: either they are with their people, or with the bandits,” RIA reports.

“Otherwise, they face a military tribunal, the Russian ministry stressed.”

There are 400,000 residents trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol and Moscow has accused Ukraine army of using the civilians as “human shields.”

Colonel-General Mizintsev has urged Ukraine to maintain a ceasefire to allow civilians to leave Mariupol via a “Russian humanitarian convoy.”

RIA reported, that the Russian Colonel General said, “From 10am to 12pm – for all armed units of Ukraine and foreign mercenaries without exception, without any weapons and ammunition along the route agreed with Ukraine.

“From 12am simultaneous passage of humanitarian convoys with food, medicines and essentials: from the east — Russian humanitarian convoy, from the west — formed by the Ukrainian side.”

Colonel-General Mizintsev said that Ukrainian “bandits,” “neo-Nazis” and nationalists are engaging in “mass terror” as Ukrainian military had allegedly gone on a killing spree in Mariupol.

Mariupol city council and Ukraine’s human rights spokesperson, Lyudmyla Denisova, said that Russian troops have forced thousands of the city’s residents to leave and head to Russia and are now in “filtration camps.”

“Several thousand Mariupol residents have been deported to Russia,” Denisova said on Telegram.