Chechen warlord claims over 1,000 Ukrainian marines have surrendered in Mariupol

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Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov said more than 1,000 Ukrainian marines have surrendered in the besieged port city of Mariupol.

Ramzan Kadyrov, a lieutenant-general in the Russian national guard and leader of Chechnya, also urged remaining forces holed up in the Azovstal steel mill to surrender.

There was no comment from Ukrainian officials on the statement made on Kadyrov's Telegram channel.

Ukraine's General Staff, in this morning's report (Wednesday, April 13), said that Russian forces were proceeding with attacks on Azovstal iron and steel works and the city's port.

Russian television showed pictures of what it said were marines giving themselves up at Illich Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol yesterday, many of them injured.

It was not clear what plant – Azovstal or Illich Iron and Steel Works – Kadyrov meant when he talked about the 1,000 surrendered Ukrainian marines.

"Within Azovstal at the moment there are about 200 wounded who cannot receive any medical assistance," Kadyrov said in his post.

"For them and all the rest it would be better to end this pointless resistance and go home to their families."

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  Dictators who fed people to crocs, threw babies at trees and made furniture from skin

Kadyrov is an ardent supporter of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and has deployed many of his fighters in Ukraine to bolster Russia's drive to "demilitarise" and "denazify" Ukraine.

In earlier postings, he vowed to proceed with the capture of Mariupol and to press on to take all other Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv.

Russian television pictures showed what it said were Ukrainian soldiers being marched down a road with their hands in the air. One of the soldiers was shown holding a Ukrainian passport.

The scenes come days after the US and UK began investigating reports that Russian forces had used chemical weapons on Ukrainian troops in the city.

Ukraine's Azov regiment said three soldiers were injured by "a poisonous substance" in an attack on Monday.

However, no evidence has been presented to confirm the use of chemical weapons.

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UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said officials were working to "urgently" investigate what she called "a callous escalation" of the war.

The Pentagon called the potential use of the weapons "deeply concerning".

Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said the government was investigating the allegations.

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