Evacuation of Mariupol Residents underway with Assistance of the UN

The evacuation of residents of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, who have been hiding in the Azovstal plant in recent weeks, has begun with the assistance of the United Nations, confirmed by Ukraine and Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the first group is expected in the morning in Zaporizhzhia.

At the same time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the Ukrainian leadership of sabotaging peace talks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the evacuation of civilians, stressed that the authorities in Zaporizhzhia will take care of the first group of evacuees - women and children fleeing hostilities in Azovstal. The metallurgical giant has become the last bastion of Mariupol's defenders against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24.

Zelensky expressed hope that all the necessary conditions would be met for the deportation of people from Mariupol to continue:

"Today we finally started the evacuation of people from Azovstal. After weeks of negotiations, after many attempts, various meetings, calls and proposals. There is not a day that we have not tried to find a solution that will save our people. Today, for the first time since the start of the war, this vital corridor was operational, with two days of the actual ceasefire.”

“More than 100 people have been evacuated - women and children fleeing hostilities there in Azovstal. Given the complexity of the process, the first evacuees will arrive in Zaporizhzhia in the morning. Our team will meet them there. I hope that all the necessary conditions will be met to continue the evacuation of people from Mariupol. We plan to start at 8 a.m.”

"The organization of humanitarian corridors is one element of the ongoing negotiation process," Zelensky said, stressing the complexity of the task and that more than 350,000 people have been rescued so far from combat zones.

In another address to the nation, Zelensky accused Russia of "waging a war of extermination" in Ukraine, adding yesterday's strikes affected non-military targets such as food and grain and fertilizer warehouses and housing estates.

According to regional authorities, eight people died yesterday in the Russian shelling in Kharkiv and Donetsk regions. Four were killed in Lyman, a city of 20,000 before the war, evacuated due to the advance of the Russian army.

The governor of the Russian Belgorod region also announced strong explosions in the morning. Since the beginning of the so-called "special military operation", the border areas have been repeatedly shelled by the Ukrainian side.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused Ukraine's leadership of sabotaging peace talks and the Ukrainian army of firing rockets and terrorizing residents of Donetsk and Kherson. Lavrov also said that Western officers were fighting in Ukraine.

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