Mariupol: Russia claims to have taken the besieged city

Russia gives for taken the ukrainian city from Mariupolin it sea ​​of ​​azov, besieged for weeks by Russian troops. This has been confirmed by russian defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, to President Vladimir Putin, who was quick to congratulate him on the “successful” military operation. However, there are still about 2,000 Ukrainian fighters entrenched next to dozens of civilians at the Azovstal steel production plant. The Russian president has assured that the people who are in the steelworks will be treated with respect after ordering that they cancel the plans to storm the plant to block it in a safe way.

“I consider the proposed assault on the industrial zone inappropriate. I am ordering it to be canceled,” the president told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in a meeting broadcast by the public television Rossia 24.

The government of Ukraine has demanded the opening of a humanitarian corridor from Azovstal to evacuate to the civilians and soldiers who endure the siege of the Russians. “We demand from the Russians a urgent humanitarian corridor from the Mariúpol Azovstal plant!”, the deputy prime minister of Ukraine, Iryna Vereshchukin your Telegram account.

The government official has specified that “now there are around 1,000 civilians and 500 soldiers wounded“Everyone must be withdrawn from Azovstal today!” he said. He also called on “world leaders and the international community to focus their efforts on Azovstal now.” “Now this is a key point and a key moment for humanitarian effort!” Vereshchuk said.

On the other hand, the Ukrainian deputy prime minister has confirmed that a total of four buses they got go out Wednesday through humanitarian corridor open in the city. “Four evacuation buses managed to leave the city yesterday through the humanitarian corridor. They spent the night in Berdyansk and are now heading to Vasilivka. We hope they will arrive in Zaporizhia soon,” he detailed.

“Today we will continue evacuating women, children and the elderly,” said Vereshchuk, in charge of the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories. “The security situation is difficult. There could be changes. Please follow the official announcements “, she has claimed. Vereshchuk herself indicated late on Wednesday that the open humanitarian corridor did not work as planned and she blamed Russia for it.” Due to the lack of control over his own army invaders have not been able to guarantee a proper ceasefire,” he stressed.

The boss of the Ukrainian negotiating delegation, David Arahamiya, announced that he and adviser to the president’s office and fellow negotiator Mykhailo Podoliak are ready to travel to Mariupol and start talks with Russia as soon as Moscow confirms the meeting. “Mykhailo Podoliak and I are ready to go to Mariupol for talks with the Russian side on the evacuation of our military garrison and civilians,” he said.

Arahamiya emphasized that the representatives of the Ukrainian delegation maintain constant contact with the Ukrainian defenders holding out in the port city of Mariupolpractically destroyed by Russian attacks since the invasion began on February 24.

On Wednesday, Russian authorities said neither soldiers in armor at the Azovstal metallurgical plant nor the civilians refugees with them in the factory had used the humanitarian corridor that had been opened for them to leave the besieged city of Mariupol during the day.

“We are forced to state that the humanitarian operation declared by the kyiv authorities was cynically interruptedno one used the indicated corridor,” said the head of the National Defense Control Center, Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev.