33 minutes ago
image source,EPA
The civilian evacuation was coordinated by the United Nations and the Red Cross.
Ukraine and Russia have announced that all the elderly, women and children have been evacuated from the besieged Azov steel plant in Mariupol.
Mariupol, an important strategic port city in southeastern Ukraine, has been attacked and besieged by Russia for more than two months.
Coordinated by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, “Operation Safe Passage” began last Friday, April 29. The United Nations has not yet confirmed that all civilians have been evacuated from Mariupol, but confirmed earlier this month that hundreds of civilians had been successfully evacuated from the Azov steel plant.
The Ukrainian defenders are still holding on to the heavily bombed Azov Steel Plant, the last part of Mariupol that is not under the control of the Russian army.
Russia has been besieging the plant for weeks, demanding the surrender of the defenders of the Azov battalion.
The whereabouts of the evacuees were not yet known, but Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that part of the humanitarian operation was now complete. In the past, it took days for evacuees to reach Ukrainian-held territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 300 civilians had been evacuated from the Azov steel plant, but the Russian Defense Ministry gave a much lower figure, saying 51 were evacuated in three days.
Zelensky said diplomatic efforts were continuing to get military personnel out of Mariupol.
image source,Getty Images
Much of Mariupol was destroyed in the war.
The capture of Mariupol is important for the Russian forces as it will allow them to complete the land bridge between the Crimea and Donbas regions and give them full control of over 80% of Ukraine’s Black Sea coastline.
But to achieve this, they attacked Mariupol with artillery, rockets and missiles and damaged or destroyed more than 90 percent of the city.
Analysis: What’s Next?
BBCBy reporter Laura BickerZaporozhye
Ukrainian defenders inside the Azov steel complex posted a statement on social media saying they and the Russians were using the white flag system to broker a truce to keep civilians away.
It sounds like progress has been made in negotiations between the two sides, and those talks have saved lives.
But despite the promise of a ceasefire, Kremlin-backed forces have reportedly stepped up fire on the steel plant in recent days.
A previous “Operation Safe Passage” by the United Nations and the Red Cross to evacuate more than 100 civilians was hampered by landmines and artillery fire.
Now that civilians are free, this has put new pressure on the Ukrainian government to find a way out for the roughly 2,000 defenders who used the steel plant in a last-ditch effort for the city of Mariupol, fighters who vowed never to surrender.
The families of the fighters have made desperate pleas to world leaders to negotiate their safe evacuation.
Ukrainian troops are trying to regain control of the Kharkiv region
Ukrainian army counterattacks Kharkov: fierce battle continues
Fierce fighting between the two sides in the Kharkiv region continues as Ukrainian forces try to retake control of the Kharkiv region from the Russians.
Ukraine’s armed forces said on Saturday that they had captured five villages northeast of Ukraine’s second-largest city.
Analysts say the Ukrainian operation is developing into a successful counteroffensive.
Kharkov has been the focus of intense shelling since the February invasion.
Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synyehubov said Saturday that Russian troops continued to “fire on civilians in the Kharkiv region.”
On the social media Telegram, Sinyehubov reminded people to “don’t go out unnecessarily” and told people not to ignore air raid sirens.
There are fears that Russian shelling could intensify ahead of Victory Day on May 9. May 9 is a holiday established in Russia to commemorate the victory over Nazi Germany.
The area has been a prime target for Russian forces since the invasion, but a report by the U.S. Institute for War Research said Ukrainian forces are now “retaking territory along a broad arc around Kharkiv”.
The report added that Ukrainian forces may be able to reduce Russian pressure on Kharkiv “and possibly threaten to push further towards Russia’s borders”.
Kharkov children’s doctor Hubanov Pavlo told BBC reporter Sophie Williams in Lviv that people were still hiding in shelters and would not go Work.
“There is no normal life in this city,” he said. “Kharkov is very close to the Russian border, so the city is under constant attack. Unfortunately, as the war continues, we cannot relax, we are constantly on alert.”
Pavlo worked at the Kharkov Regional Children’s Hospital, which was damaged by shelling.
“The shells hit our hospital several times and now the building is destroyed and medical services cannot be provided there because the Russians have been shooting. I am now working at another hospital,” he said.
On Saturday, the museum of philosopher and poet Hryhoriy Skovoroda in the Kharkiv region was confirmed to have been destroyed after a Russian shelling of its roof. But museum items have been removed early.