Mariupol mercy mission in transit amid Russian shells
KYIV: A new UN convoy was heading to Mariupol to evacuate civilians from the “hell” of a besieged steel plant, even as Ukraine accused Russia of breaking its promise to pause fire at the site.
Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been holed up for weeks at the sprawling factory, trapped under intense Russian bombardment, in what has become the last pocket of resistance in the devastated but strategically important southern port city.
The Russian army announced a three-day ceasefire at the site, but Svyatoslav Palamar, a commander of the Azov regiment that is defending it, said in a video on Telegram that heavy and bloody fighting continued.
“The Russians violated the promise of a truce and did not allow the evacuation of civilians who continue to hide from shelling in the basement of the plant,” Mr Palamar said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Russian army was still ready to allow civilians to leave the complex, while a Kremlin spokesman said humanitarian corridors were “functioning”.
The mayor of Mariupol estimates about 200 civilians remain sheltering in dismal conditions in the plant’s Soviet-era underground tunnels.
“We still have to evacuate civilians from there, women and children. Just imagine ... more than two months of constant bombing and constant death,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Despite the uncertainty, UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said the rescue convoy was on its way.
“A convoy is proceeding to get to Azovstal by tomorrow morning hopefully to receive those civilians remaining in that bleak hell ... and take them back to safety,” he told a Ukraine donor conference in Warsaw.
The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed “that a safe passage operation is ongoing” in coordination with the UN.
The two organisations already worked together to evacuate some 100 civilians from the plant at the weekend.
Mr Putin earlier told Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett that “the Russian military is still ready to ensure the safe exit of civilians”, according to the Kremlin.
“As for the militants remaining at Azovstal, the Kyiv authorities must give them an order to lay down their arms,” Mr Putin said.
Taking full control of the now flattened city of Mariupol would be a major victory for Moscow, allowing it to create a land bridge between separatist, pro-Russian regions in the east and Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
Nearly 10 weeks into a war that has killed thousands, destroyed cities and uprooted more than 13 million people, the Kremlin conceded that Kyiv’s Western partners had prevented a “quick” end to Russia’s campaign.
Since failing to take Kyiv early on in its invasion, which began on February 24, Russia has focused its efforts on Ukraine’s east and south.