Ukrainian military refuses to leave Mariupol, they cannot leave wounded and dead – Zelensky
Ukrainian servicemen refused to leave Mariupol because they cannot leave the wounded and killed people, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky spoke about his proposed right to choose to leave the city and save a life.
"There are our troops inside Mariupol. Russian troops entered where they could enter. They did not enter some part of the city, because there are our guys who refused to go out, including to the calls of the Russians. Moreover, their families [of Ukrainian servicemen] contacted me. I talked to these guys. Once every two days I get in touch with them. I also told them – I understand everything – but if you feel that you need to go out, if you feel that it is right and you can survive – do it," Zelensky said in an interview with Russian journalists published on the website of the President's Office.
"I gave them the right to choose. They said: we can't, there are wounded people, we will not leave the wounded. Moreover, they said: we will not leave the dead," he added.
The head of state, explaining the situation in Mariupol to Russian journalists, said that the entrances to and exits from the city were blocked by the Russian military, the port was mined, the Russian troops were shelling humanitarian cargo, killing drivers, and a humanitarian catastrophe was obvious.
"For you to understand, there are corpses on the roads and sidewalks in the city. Nobody removes them. Russian soldiers and citizens of Ukraine. It looks scary, and our military is not even ready to leave the dead ... And this applies not to officers, but to everyone. So they protect the city and protect the wounded, protect the dead they want to bury. We wanted to take out the corpses, we asked the Russian Federation about it. We were not allowed to take out either the corpses or the wounded, no one," the president said.