According to the Azov regiment
20 citizens leave the steelworks in Mariupol

04/30/2022, 10:14 PM

There are said to be hundreds of people, including dozens of children, in the underground tunnels of the Azov steelworks. According to the Azov regiment, 20 civilians were able to leave the contested place. They are to be taken to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

According to Ukrainian sources, 20 civilians fought the Azov steelworks in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol for safety. Svyatoslav Palmar, deputy commander of the Azov regiment, said in a statement to the Telegram published video, civilians, including women and children, were taken to an agreed location, “and we hope that they will be taken to Zaporizhia, in the territory controlled by Ukraine.”

The deputy commander of the regiment, defending the steelworks, said that the factory premises were shelled by Russian artillery throughout the night. The ceasefire, which was fixed for six in the morning, began only five hours later, but has been observed ever since. The evacuation convoy, expected before 6 a.m., finally arrived more than twelve hours later.

Palmar said that the Azov regiment is looking for industrial sites for more civilians and hopes that all of them can be moved to a safer place. Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, including dozens of children, are said to be still inside the complex, along with extensive underground tunnel systems.

Last week, Russia announced that, with the exception of steel works, it had gained full control of the strategically important port city in southeastern Ukraine. Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin ordered a siege of the Azov-Steel industrial complex. During a visit to Kyiv on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the UN was doing “everything” to facilitate the evacuation of civilians from the steelworks.