Red Cross says it is still trying to reach last Mariupol civilians

▶ But EU officials say latest embargo package will seek to tackle imports, raising prospect of member opt-outs

The Red Cross vowed yesterday not to “spare any effort” to reach those Mariupol civilians still trapped in the bombedout Ukrainian city.

Russia renewed its assault on the southern city’s Azovstal steel works shortly after a UN-brokered ceasefire ended.

About 200 people – mostly women and children – remain in tunnels underneath the strategic site, where fighters from Ukraine’s Azov regiment have put up bitter resistance against the Russian encirclement for more than two months.

Although the Red Cross said it was an “immense relief” that more than 100 civilians had been evacuated from the Mariupol plant, the aid group insisted it had not forgotten those who were still there.

It was the first completed civilian evacuation from the giant Azovstal steel factory, where Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have hidden for weeks as Russian forces besieged and pummelled the city.

A convoy of buses and ambulances filled with evacuees reached safety yesterday in the eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, more than 200 kilometres from Mariupol on the Dnipro river.

The Red Cross said those trapped under the port city have “lived through unimaginable horror”.

“It is an immense relief that some civilians who have suffered for weeks are now out,” said Red Cross President Peter Maurer.

He said those left behind were in dire need of humanitarian relief and that his organisation would not spare any effort to reach them.

Russia bombarded the steel works throughout Monday night after a ceasefire broke down, Ukrainian forces said.

“A powerful assault on the territory of the Azovstal plant is under way with support from armoured vehicles and tanks,” Capt Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov regiment, said on social media.

Russian forces are also attempting “to land a large number of infantry by boat”, he said.

“We will do everything we can to repel this assault, but we call for immediate measures to evacuate civilians who are on the territory of the plant.”

Hungary and Slovakia said yesterday they were unwilling to cut off Russian oil imports, raising the question of possible opt-outs if the EU seeks an embargo against the Kremlin.

EU leaders are under pressure from Ukraine and some member states to include an oil ban in a sixth round of sanctions. This would cut off a lucrative source of funding for Moscow and take a geopolitical weapon out of the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the sixth package due to be presented shortly would aim to “tackle oil imports” – as well as penalising more Russian banks and imposing sanctions on people accused of peddling disinformation.

But while Germany and Austria have warmed to an oil embargo after initially opposing it, Hungary and Slovakia say their economies are too reliant on Russian crude to take part in such a ban.

“It is currently physically impossible for Hungary and its economy to function without Russian oil,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on a visit to Kazakhstan.

“No one can expect us to allow the price of the war to be paid by Hungarians.”

Mr Szijjarto said Budapest would not vote for any sanctions that make oil shipments from Russia impossible.

Slovakia’s Economy Minister Richard Sulik said he would seek an opt-out from any embargo because the country’s only refiner, Slovnaft, would need years to make the switch from Russian oil.

Despite potential roadblocks, European Council chief Charles Michel said yesterday he was “confident that the council will imminently impose further sanctions – notably on Russian oil”.

Prices hovered above $100 a barrel as markets braced for a potential import ban.

Any deal on Russian oil would require the consent of all 27 EU members – meaning it could not pass without Hungary and Slovakia’s approval. However, a deal voted on could include an opt-out for those countries

The bloc agreed on an embargo on Russian coal in the fifth package last month, but has not ventured into gas supplies.

Ministers from other EU states have said they sympathise with oil-reliant neighbours but have urged unity during the crisis. Hungary and its Russia-friendly Prime Minister Viktor Orban have irked Ukraine with an equivocal stance on the war.

As countries seek to find alternative suppliers, Mr Michel toured an import terminal for liquefied natural gas under construction in northern Greece. This is aimed at weakening Russia’s grip on the energy market.

Supporters of an oil and gas embargo say it would weaken Mr Putin’s ability to use energy as a tool of blackmail – after Russian gas supplier Gazprom cut off supplies to Poland and Bulgaria last week.

Poland, one of the strongest supporters of an energy embargo, has proposed a system similar to carbon emissions trading in which countries that continue to buy Russian fossil fuels must pay a levy towards energy reforms.

Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi used a speech to the European Parliament yesterday to urge reforms that would eliminate the right of individual countries to veto such measures.

While sanctions can be blocked by a single vote against at the European Council, this does not stop countries from negotiating special treatment.

Spain and Portugal were given approval to intervene in their electricity markets at a European Council summit last month.

“The institutions set up by our predecessors in previous decades have served well European citizens, but are inadequate to the current reality we are now facing,” Mr Draghi said.

Mr Putin yesterday signed a decree on retaliatory sanctions, banning trade with unfriendly parties on a list to be drawn up within the next 10 days.

Hungary’s foreign minister said no one can expect his government to allow Hungarians to pay the price of the war