Moscow declared victory on April 21 in the city of Mariupol. Hundreds of Ukrainian troops and civilians took shelter in the Azovstal steelworks, the only part of Mariupol that is not under Russian occupation. Fortunately, even after the negotiations failed, on Sunday, around 100 Ukrainian civilians were evacuated from the Azovstal steelworks: "For the first time, we had two days of a ceasefire on this territory, and we managed to take out more than 100 civilians - women, children", Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reported.
United Nations (UN) humanitarian spokesman, Saviano Abreu, said that this evacuation attempt has been carried on in collaboration with the International Committee for the Red Cross and coordination with Ukrainian and Russian officials. The civilians arrived in a convoy with the UN and Russian military vehicles at the Russian-held village of Bezimenne. "When the bunker started to shake,'' said Natalia Usmanova, an evacuee, “I was hysterical. My husband can vouch for that. I was so worried the bunker would cave in". Mariupol's city council said more civilians will be evacuated on May 2: 1,000 civilians are believed to live under the Azovstal steelworks, according to the UN.
Mariupol evacuations coincide with the arrival of the U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi who met President Zelenskiy. She offered help and support for Ukraine: "We stand with Ukraine until victory is won. And we stand with our NATO allies in supporting Ukraine". U.S. President Joe Biden asked Congress for a $33 billion aid package for Ukraine only last week.
To learn more, please read:
https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-pelosi-surprise-visit-zelenskiy-mariupol/31829116.html
Author: Giulia Francescon; Editor: Shrabya Ghimire
