For fleeing civilians
Moscow announces ceasefire at Azov steel mill
4/25/2022 1:22 p.m
Fierce fighting has been raging around the Azov steelworks in Mariupol for weeks. At the end of last week, Putin announced that he would besiege the area so closely that “a fly can no longer get out.” Now a ceasefire is supposed to apply to let hundreds of civilians safely withdraw.
Moscow has announced a ceasefire in the area around the Azov steelworks in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. The Russian troops would “stop all combat operations” and “withdraw their units to a safe distance” from 1 p.m. (CEST) to ensure the evacuation of civilians, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said. The civilians would be taken “in any direction they chose”. The Ukrainian side should make clear its “readiness” for the ceasefire “by hoisting white flags” on the site of the steel mill, the ministry added.
Last week, Russia declared that the strategically important port city on the Sea of Azov was completely under Russian control – with the exception of the steel works. Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians are reportedly holed up at the site. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the plant to be besieged – so tightly that “a fly can no longer get out”.
In view of the difficult situation of the fighters and civilians trapped in the Mariupol steelworks, Kyiv offered negotiations with Moscow on Sunday. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak announced that a “special round” could discuss the exchange of military personnel. According to Russian sources, 2,500 Ukrainian fighters and foreign mercenaries are holed up in the steelworks. According to Ukrainian sources, 1,000 civilians, including many children and women, live in the bunkers built for a nuclear war. Attempts to set up escape corridors failed again and again.
Zelenskyy phoned the Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday and called on him to work with Putin to evacuate civilians from Mariupol. In addition, Erdogan should achieve an exchange of the Ukrainian soldiers locked in the steelworks.