About 500 people were successfully evacuated from the territory of the Mariupol plant “Azovstal”, blockaded by Russian troops. This was announced on Friday, May 6, by UN Secretary General António Guterres. The operation was carried out with the participation of specialists from the Red Cross. The evacuation of people was also confirmed by sources from the DPR and Russia.
“In the course of a joint operation by the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross, two columns evacuated about 500 people from the Azovstal plant and adjacent territories in Mariupol while ensuring security,” the UN Secretary General noted.
Guterres hopes that continued coordination between Russia and Ukraine will increase the number of “humanitarian pauses” for the exit of civilians.
Earlier, the headquarters of the territorial defense of the DPR, in turn, reported that over the past day, 518 people, including 67 children, were evacuated from Mariupol to the village of Bezymyannoye, which is located on the coast of the Sea of Azov and is controlled by the forces of the People’s Militia of Donbass. They are located at the point of assistance to refugees, which is deployed by the forces of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the DPR.
The day before, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced the opening of a humanitarian corridor on May 5, 6 and 7 for the evacuation of civilians from the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant.
Earlier, on April 26, negotiations were held between the UN Secretary General and Russian President Vladimir Putin, where they discussed the possibility of opening humanitarian corridors from Mariupol and specifically from the Azovstal plant for the exit of the civilian population. During the meeting, they discussed the right of Russia to recognize the independence of the LPR and DPR and provide them with military assistance. Vladimir Putin refused to accept Guterres’ words about “invading” Ukraine and pointed to the Kosovo precedent. “I am very well acquainted, I have personally read all the documents of the International Court of Justice on the situation in Kosovo, I remember very well the decision where it is written that in exercising the right to self-determination, this or that territory of any state is not obliged to apply for permission to declare its sovereignty to the central authorities of the country,” Vladimir Putin said at the time. The head of the Russian Federation also pointed to the broad support for this decision of the UN court. “I personally read all the comments – both legal and administrative, political bodies of the United States, European countries,” the President of the Russian Federation emphasized. “Everyone supported it.”