KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine said on Friday that 50 civilians had been evacuated from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, adding that Russia violated a ceasefire in place to allow the evacuations.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk said 50 women, children and elderly people had been evacuated from the steel plant, before indicating that evacuation operations would continue on Saturday.
Russia has continuously violated the local ceasefire, she added, which has significantly slowed down the operation.
Russia confirmed the number of evacuees as well as the resumption of evacuations on Saturday, but refrained from commenting on statements by Ukraine’s deputy prime minister regarding ceasefire violations.
About 200 civilians are still holed up in this huge industrial complex, the last stronghold of resistance for Ukrainian forces in this port city in southeastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Ministry for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories announced on Friday that it had requested the help of Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
The Kyiv authorities have sent a letter to the NGO asking for its help in assessing the physical and mental health of the Ukrainian fighters present at the site, collecting evidence of the conditions they face and providing medical aid to ” Ukrainians whose human rights have been violated by the Russian Federation”.
Russian authorities, who have denied regularly targeting civilians since the start of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, called on the fighters who took refuge in this industrial site to surrender when Russia claimed victory in Mariupol on April 21.
(Report Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets, French version Myriam Rivet and Camille Raynaud, edited by Kate Entringer and Matthieu Protard)
click here for restrictions
©2022 Reuters
