According to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukrainian authorities should try again this Saturday to evacuate civilians from the port of Mariupol, which is largely controlled by the Russian army, as Russian strikes against the Azovstal Steel Plant resumed, according to another Ukrainian official.
“Today we try again to evacuate women, children and the elderly,” the official said on Facebook on Saturday morning, adding that civilians had gathered near a shopping center in the city and hoped to start the departure from Zaporizhia , about 200 km northwest, around 12:00 local time (09:00 GMT).
Zelenskyy called for “humanitarian break”
After several days without possible evacuations, three buses from Mariupol arrived in Zaporijjia on Thursday.
However, Iryna Vereshchuk warned that the Russian armed forces may want to organize another evacuation corridor in parallel, this time to Russia. “Be careful,” she said. “Do not succumb to deception and provocation”.
This new attempt comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday evening, on the eve of the Orthodox Easter weekend, called for a “humanitarian pause” to evacuate civilians from Ukrainian cities besieged by the Russians, starting with Mariupol, which has since been occupied by Russian army fired on earlier March.
airstrikes
Although this strategic port on the Sea of Azov is now largely controlled by the Russian army, the last Ukrainian fighters, particularly those of the Azov Battalion, are entrenched in the vast Azovstal metallurgical complex. They have been demanding for several days that the women and children who would be hundreds of refugees with them in the underground passages of this complex can be evacuated “with security guarantees”.
According to Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to the Ukrainian Presidency, the Russians “resumed airstrikes” on the complex on Saturday. “They are trying offensive operations,” but “our defenders, despite their difficult situation, are conducting counter-operations,” he said on Telegram. This information was not verifiable. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russian forces would not attempt a final attack on Azovstal.
Video Testimonials
The Azov Battalion posted a new video on YouTube Saturday morning showing dozens of women and children living in the basements of a building at the complex. We see them housed in a makeshift dormitory, dressed warmly, laundry hanging by a thread.
Questioned by a Ukrainian soldier, a woman who has been living in this underground since the beginning of March explains in front of the camera. Another, holding a baby, claims to have taken refuge there because her husband worked in Azovstal. Several children also speak in front of the camera, indicating that they wish they could “come home”. The date of the video could not be immediately verified, but two women interviewed say today’s date is April 21.