A hundred civilians left Mariupol to head for “territory controlled by Ukraine”.
The evacuation of the Azovstal factory in Mariupol, a port besieged by the Russians in southeastern Ukraine, “has begun” and about 100 civilians are heading for “the territory controlled by Ukraine”, announced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday. “The evacuation of civilians from Azovstal has begun. A first group of about 100 people is heading towards the territory controlled (by Ukraine). Tomorrow we will welcome them to Zaporijjia” west of Mariupol, wrote on Twitter Ukrainian President. “Thank you to our team! They are working with UN representatives to evacuate the civilians who remain on the territory of the factory”, he continued.
Russian state agencies TASS and Ria Novosti had earlier announced that 40 civilians were evacuated on Sunday from the territory of the Azovstal factory, besieged by the Russian army in Mariupol, and taken to territories under Moscow control in the east. According to the Ria Novosti correspondent, all the evacuees have been settled in a tent camp in the village of Bezimenné, halfway between Mariupol and the Russian border. According to the same source, Red Cross and UN personnel attended the evacuation.
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The Russian Ministry of Defense told him on Sunday morning that nearly 50 civilians had left the territory of the Azovstal factory on Saturday, where hundreds of members of the Ukrainian forces are entrenched. It was not immediately clear whether the Ukrainian and Russian sides were talking about the same evacuation and the same people. “The UN confirms that an evacuation operation is underway at the Azovstal steel complex, in coordination with the ICRC and the parties to the conflict,” Jens Laerke, spokesman for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said on Sunday. of the UN in Geneva, without further details.