Ukraine Ignores Russia's Syevyerodonetsk Ultimatum As U.S. Announces Weapons Aid

Kyiv has defied a Moscow ultimatum to surrender Syevyerodonetsk despite the Russians controlling most of the key eastern city as Western defense ministers gather in Brussels to decide on sending more heavy weapons to the outgunned and outnumbered Ukrainian forces.

Russia has told Ukrainian defenders holed up in the Azot chemical plant in the city to give up their "senseless resistance and lay down arms" early on June 15, promising a "humanitarian corridor" for the civilians sheltering in the plant along with the fighters.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that Ukrainian forces prevented the civilians from being evacuated. It said Russia created the corridor, but "the Kyiv authorities cynically scuppered the humanitarian operation."

It also accused Ukraine of violating a cease-fire it announced in the siege of Syevyerodonetsk and using the humanitarian operation to redeploy troops. The claims could not be verified.

Russia had said it would allow the civilians to leave the plant for territory under the control of Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

British military intelligence said in its daily bulletin on June 15 that several hundred civilians were currently in underground bunkers in the Azot plant together with Ukrainian fighters.

The mayor of Syevyerodonetsk, Oleksandr Stryuk, said after the early morning deadline passed that Russian forces attempted to storm the city from several directions but were held back by Ukrainian forces.

"We are trying to push the enemy towards the city center," Stryuk said on television. "This is an ongoing situation with partial successes and tactical retreats."

Stryuk said Ukrainian forces were not completely cut off. "The escape routes are dangerous, but there are some," he said.

Serhiy Hayday, the head of the Luhansk region containing Syevyerodonetsk, said the army was defending the city and keeping Russian forces from Lysychansk, the twin city on the opposite bank of the Siverskiy Donets River.

"Nevertheless, the Russians are close and the population is suffering and homes are being destroyed," he posted online.

The bulletin issued by Britain's Defense Ministry said that it was "highly unlikely" Moscow had anticipated such stubborn opposition from the Ukrainians during its original planning for the invasion.

It added that in the face of the determined Ukrainian response, Russia has resorted to urban-warfare tactics that rely on the heavy use of artillery, causing extensive collateral damage throughout the city.

Fighting for the strategic city has raged for weeks as Russia advances in the eastern Donbas region. Capturing Syevyerodonetsk -- the largest city in Luhansk still under Ukrainian control -- would allow Moscow's forces to advance on Slovyansk and Kramatorsk further west.

The United States on June 15 announced additional weapons packages for Ukraine valued at around $1 billion. U.S. President Joe Biden said he informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy about the assistance in a phone call.

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Zelenskiy has called both for more heavy weapons and for more EU sanctions against Russia.

In an address via video link to Czech lawmakers on June 15, Zelenskiy urged the European Union to adopt a seventh package of punitive measures against Moscow for its unprovoked invasion after the one agreed last month that will halt the majority of imports of Russian oil.

SEE ALSO: Zelenskiy Calls For Harsher Russia Sanctions, EU Candidate Status For Ukraine

Zelenskiy said Ukraine was also seeing "painful losses" in the Kharkiv region to the east of Kyiv, where Russia is trying to strengthen its position after being pushed back.

Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said earlier that Ukraine had received just 10 percent of the weapons it has requested from the West to help fight the Russian invasion.

"No matter how hard Ukraine tries, no matter how professional our army is, without the help of Western partners we will not be able to win this war," Malyar said in a televised briefing, saying the West should speed up the delivery of the arms.

Western countries have promised to send sophisticated weapons, including advanced rockets, but deploying them is taking time.

Malyar said there should be "a clear time frame" for the deliveries "because every day there's a delay, we're talking about the lives of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians."

SEE ALSO: Is Ukraine Losing The War? Depends On How You Look At It.

Speaking ahead of a June 15 gathering of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said there was an "urgent need" to send Kyiv more advanced weaponry, but cautioned that familiarizing the Ukrainian military with such weapons systems takes time.

"Ukraine is really in a very critical situation and therefore, there's an urgent need to step up," Stoltenberg told journalists.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told dozens of defense ministers from the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels that the West must step up weapons deliveries and "push ourselves even harder to ensure that Ukraine can defend itself, its citizens, and its territory."

With reporting by Reuters, AP, BBC, CNN, and AFP