From the BBC:
“Ukraine war: Civilians now
out of Azovstal plant in Mariupol”
(The operation was co-ordinated
by the UN and the Red Cross)
All elderly people, women and
children have been evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol,
Ukraine and Russia have announced. The operation began a week ago, co-ordinated
by the UN and Red Cross, which have not confirmed the news. Ukrainian forces
are holding out at the heavily bombed plant, the last part of the city not
under Russian control. Russia has besieged the plant for weeks, demanding the
surrender of its defenders from the Azov battalion. The whereabouts of the
evacuees are not yet clear, but Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna
Vereshchuk said this part of the humanitarian operation was now complete. In
the past, it has taken days for those evacuated to reach Ukrainian-held
territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 300 civilians
had been rescued from the plant, although the Russian defence ministry gave a
much lower number, saying 51 people had been evacuated over a period of three
days. Mr Zelensky said diplomatic efforts were continuing to get military
personnel out of Mariupol.
(Much of Mariupol has been
destroyed in the war)
Capturing Mariupol is important
to Russian troops because it will allow them to complete a land bridge between
Crimea and the Donbas region, as well as giving them full control of more than
80% of Ukraine's Black Sea coastline. But in their quest to do so, they have
pummelled Mariupol with artillery, rockets and missiles - damaging or
destroying more than 90% of the city.
Analysis by Laura Bicker, BBC
News, Zaporizhzhia
Ukrainian fighters inside the
Azovstal complex issued a statement on social media saying both they and the
Russians had been using a white flag system to halt fighting to get civilian
people out. It sounds like progress between the two sides, and lives have been
saved by these negotiations. But Kremlin-backed forces have reportedly
intensified their fire on the steel works in recent days, despite pledges of a
ceasefire. The previous UN and Red Cross operation to free more than 100 people
was held up by land mines and mortar fire. Now that the civilians are free, it
puts new pressure on the Ukrainian government to find a way out for about 2,000
fighters using the site to make a last stand for the city of Mariupol - and who
have vowed never to surrender. Their families have issued a desperate plea to
world leaders to negotiate their safe release. Meanwhile, Russia has said there
will be no Victory Day celebrations in Mariupol. Victory Day is celebrated
annually on 9 May in Russia to mark the Soviet Union's victory in World War
Two. "A time will come and there will be a big celebration there,"
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding there were no plans for
official visits on the day. At the same time, intense fighting has continued in
the Kharkiv region as troops attempt to regain control of the area from the
Russians. Ukraine's armed forces said on Saturday that they had taken five
villages north-east of the country's second largest city. Analysts say the
Ukrainian operation is developing into a successful counter-offensive. Kharkiv
has been the focus of intense shelling since the 24 February invasion.
^ I’m glad that the Children and
the Elderly have been able to evacuate. I’m also glad that the Ukrainian
Soldiers inside continue to fight against the Russian Nazis. ^
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