Russia–Ukraine (March 20): Chernobyl Staff Rotated out for First Time Since Site’s Capture

The structure of the New Safe Confinement (NSC) covering the 4th block of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which was destroyed during the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, is pictured on Nov. 22, 2018. Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

The latest on the Russia–Ukraine crisis, March 20. Click here for updates from March 19.

Ukraine Refuses Russia’s Demands to Lay Down Arms in Mariupol

Ukraine said there is no question of surrendering the city of Mariupol after Russia called on Ukrainian forces on Sunday to lay down arms in the besieged port city.

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