Live updates | Ukraine: ''Do not offer us a ceasefire''

An adviser to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that the country won't accept any cease-fire until all the Russian troops pull back.

Thursday's statement from Mykhailo Podolyak, who was involved in several rounds of talks with Russia, reflects an increasingly confident stand taken by Ukraine as it has fought the Russian offensive to an effective standstill.

“Do not offer us a ceasefire — this is impossible without total Russian troops withdrawal,” Podolyak wrote on Twitter.

In a reference to a 2015 peace agreement for eastern Ukraine that was brokered by France and Germany and signed in the Belarusian capital Minsk, Podolyak wrote: “Ukraine is not interested in new 'Minsk' and the war renewal in a few years.” Several Ukrainian officials have recently issued similar statements. Podolak didn't specify what would constitute “total” withdrawal.

He added that “until Russia is ready to fully liberate occupied territories, our negotiating team is weapons, sanctions, and money.” ___ KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: — Battle for Mariupol draws toward close after surrender — UN chief 'hopeful' of Ukraine grain deal to help food crisis — Senate confirms Brink as new US ambassador to Ukraine — US intel shows Russians fear Mariupol abuse will backfire — Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine ___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: LONDON: British military authorities say Russia's centralized command and control structure is likely to come under increasing strain as senior officers seek to avoid responsibility for failures during the invasion of Ukraine.

The UK Ministry of Defence, in a briefing posted on Thursday morning, said several senior Russian commanders have already been fired for poor performance during the war.

The ministry says Lt. Gen. Serhiy Kisel, who led the elite 1st Guards Tank Army, was suspended for failing to capture Kharkiv, and Vice Admiral Igor Osipov, who commanded the Black Sea Fleet, has probably been suspended following the sinking of the cruiser Moskva.

The ministry also said it is unclear whether Chief of the General Staff Valeriy Gerasimov retains the support of President Vladimir Putin.

The ministry says senior officials are likely to be increasingly distracted as they seek to avoid personal culpability amid this culture of “cover-ups and scapegoating.” “This will likely place a further strain on Russia's centralized model of command and control as officers increasingly seek to defer key decisions to their superiors,” the ministry said. “It will be difficult for Russia to regain the initiative under these conditions.” ___ MOSCOW: The head of the Russia-backed separatist region in eastern Ukraine says that over half of Ukrainian troops holed up at a steel plant in the key port of Mariupol have come out.

Denis Pushilin, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said Thursday that more than half of the Ukrainian servicemen who were holed up at the giant Azovstal steel plant have surrendered.

Pushilin didn't give specific numbers, but Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said on Wednesday that 959 Ukrainian troops had abandoned the stronghold since they started coming out Monday.

The Russian military has previously estimated the number of Ukrainian troops at Azovstal at over 2,000.

Pushilin said that those Ukrainian soldiers who needed medical assistance were hospitalized while others were put in a detention facility.

He charged that the International Red Cross Committee representatives were allowed to inspect the facility, a claim that couldn't be immediately verified.

He added that over 60 percent of residential buildings in Mariupol have been damaged beyond repair and will need to be razed after more than two months of fighting over the strategic port on the Sea of Azov.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)