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Ukraine on Monday called on the United Nations to monitor any safe evacuation route from a steel factory in Mariupol, where up to 1,000 civilians are hiding, officials said.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk made the request after rejecting an agreement reached with Moscow to build a humanitarian corridor out of the Azovstal Steel Plant, which continues to be under attack by the Russian military, Reuters reports.
Ukraine wanted the UN to be “the initiator and guarantor of the Azovstal humanitarian corridor for civilians,” Vereshchuk was quoted as saying by Reuters on Monday.
A Ukrainian soldier from the Azov Battalion and civilians gather at the Azovstal Steel Plant on Orthodox Easter Sunday in this handout picture, where soldiers are holding out and civilians are taking shelter. (Azov/Handout via Reuters)
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday.
Among other things, Mariupol and the current situation at the Azovstal plant are being discussed, Russian state media report, citing their foreign ministry.
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows damage at the Azovstal factory in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Sunday April 24. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
Earlier Monday, Russia said it would open a humanitarian corridor for those trapped inside the steel factory at 2pm local time – but Ukraine came out later and said no deal had been reached.
“It is important to understand that with the agreement of both sides, a humanitarian corridor opens,” Vereshchuk reportedly wrote on Telegram. “A unilaterally announced corridor offers no security and is therefore not a humanitarian corridor.”
The Azovstal Iron and Steel Works factory in Mariupol, Ukraine on Friday, April 22nd. (REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko)
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Separately, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy said Monday he believes a ceasefire would allow Ukraine’s armed forces to regroup.
“We don’t think a ceasefire is a good option right now,” he said, according to Reuters, but adding that it was “not my decision.”