Turkey wants to evacuate wounded Ukrainian soldiers from Azovstal . factory

Reuters news agency, quoting Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman and senior foreign policy adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that Ankara had discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about evacuating the wounded. Ukrainian soldiers at Azovstal factory 2 weeks ago.

According to the plan, wounded Ukrainian soldiers and civilians will be transported from the factory by road to Berdyansk port in Zaporizhia province in Ukraine – which is being controlled by Russian forces, and then will be transported by sea to Istanbul of Turkey. Mr. Kalin did not explain why it was necessary to go to the port of Berdyansk first as Mariupol also has a large port of its own.

“If it can be done that way, then we are very willing. In fact, our ship is ready to depart and bring the wounded and civilians (in Azovstal) to Turkey,” said President Erdogan’s spokesman, adding that he was confident that the plan would still work. can become a reality.

However, Mr. Kalin said the plan has not yet been approved by Russia. He also revealed that Moscow’s position on an evacuation of wounded Ukrainians in Azovstal is still “changing day by day”.

On the contrary, President Zelensky said that complex negotiations are still underway to evacuate a large number of wounded soldiers from the steel plant in Mariupol, in exchange for the release of prisoners. Russian war.

The Azovstal Steel Plant is considered the last “resistance stronghold” of Ukrainian forces in Mariupol – a strategic port city with much of the area already under Russian control. The bunker system under the factory has become a entrenched place for members of the 36th Marine Brigade of the Ukrainian army and Azov Battalion of the Ukrainian National Guard since it was surrounded by Russian forces.

Russia has repeatedly called on the Ukrainian soldiers in the factory to lay down their weapons to surrender, and pledged to ensure their lives. In late April, the Kremlin confirmed that all the injured and sick inside the Azovstal would receive medical care if they surrendered. However, Ukrainian forces repeatedly rejected the proposal from the Russian side.

Last weekend, Ukraine announced that all the women, children and elderly people hiding at the Azovstal steel plant had been successfully evacuated thanks to a humanitarian corridor coordinated by the United Nations and the International Red Cross. perform. However, Kiev estimates that about 1,000 soldiers and at least 100 Ukrainian civilians are still trapped at the industrial facility.

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