The latest Mariupol situation: Ukraine calls for urgent evacuation in the stronghold of Azovstal

“Hundreds of civilians, children, wounded Ukrainian defenders are trapped in factory shelters. They have almost no food, water, essential medicine. A humanitarian corridor. Urgency from the Azovstal factory to ensure everyone’s safety is the most urgent request at the moment,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said in a statement on social media.

The adviser to the Ukrainian president said that Russia realized it could not capture Mariupol’s Azovstal.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said Russia had decided to blockade the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol because it could not use force.

“Physically, they could not take Azovstal, they understand this, they suffered great losses there. Our warriors continue to hold the last stronghold,” Arestovych told a briefing. you.

“This can also be explained by the fact that they moved part of their forces north from Mariupol to reinforce the army that was trying to accomplish their main objective of advancing to the administrative boundary. of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions”, Mr Arestovych added.

Meanwhile, Russian President Putin has said that soldiers’ lives should be guaranteed, while giving Ukrainian fighters a chance to surrender.

President Putin canceled the order to attack the Azovstal steel plant in the port of Mariupol during a meeting with Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu on April 21. According to Shoigu, the base still has about 2,000 Ukrainian fighters, including the “Azov” regiment.

President Putin said that the lives of Russian soldiers cannot be risked, Russian forces should not attack deep inside the factory.

Mr. Yan Gagin- a senior representative of the Donetsk People’s Republic once described the tunnels inside the factory Azovstal like an underground city”.