Russia: Putin declares ceasefire in Mariupol on the eve of Guterres’ visit | International

Within a statement issued by the Russian authorities, it was announced that the ceasefire announcement to allow the evacuation would be read every 30 minutes by loudspeakers so that it could be heard inside the plant.

Russia today declared a new ceasefire for the evacuation of civilian refugees from the Azovstal steelworks in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariúpol, on the eve of the consultations in Moscow with the UN Secretary General, Anthony Guterres.

“The Russian Federation publicly and officially declares that there is no obstacle for civilians to leave Azovstal, except for the decision of the Kyiv authorities and of the commanders of the nationalist formations to retain civilians as a human shield,” said General Mikhail Mizintsev, the head of Russia’s National Defense Control center, in a statement.

At the same time, Moscow once again questioned the civilian presence in the “catacombs” of Azovstal, where around a thousand people would take refuge, including women and children, according to Kyiv.

Guterres will hold consultations on the Russian military campaign in Ukraine on Tuesday with the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.

After this you will be received by the president, Vladimir Putin, as reported by the Kremlin.

Nth Russian humanitarian corridor

The ceasefire came into force at 11:00 GMT, but the military statement He did not specify when it will expire.

The units of the Russian Armed Forces and the militias of the Donetsk People’s Republic promised to withdraw to a reasonable distance and allow the evacuation of civilians “in the direction they choose”.

Russia, which stressed that the humanitarian corridor has been open 24 hours a day for more than a month, demanded that the Ukrainian authorities “Immediately order the commanders of the nationalist formations to release them.”

“The readiness of the Ukrainian side to start the humanitarian operation must be confirmed by the display of white flags on the perimeter or at least in some sectors of Azovstal,” Mizintsev explained.

failed evacuation

As on previous occasions, Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukrainian deputy prime minister, acknowledged shortly after that both sides “unfortunately” had not reached an agreement.

He stressed that a humanitarian corridor unilaterally announced by one of the parties to the conflict cannot be considered safe for the evacuees.

“This would be possible to believe if the Russians had not sabotaged the humanitarian corridors on many occasions,” stressed.

He recalled that kyiv has asked Guterres to become the initiator and guarantor of the corridor that will allow the safe evacuation of civilians from Azovstal. It is the last bastion of the Ukrainian resistance in the port bathed by the Sea of ​​Azov.

“We trust that the negotiations of the UN Secretary General with Russian representatives will yield results,” he added.

A few days ago, Putin canceled the order to storm Azovstal, which had been surrounded for several weeks, in order to minimize casualties in the ranks of the Russian Army.

Guterres visits Russia and meets with Erdogan

Before arriving in Moscow, Guterres met in Ankara with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has presented himself as a mediator in the conflict.

They both underlined the “urgent need” that there is access to humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians and provide aid to communities affected by the conflict, as reported by the UN in a statement.

“The common goal is to end the war as soon as possible and create the conditions to end the suffering of civilians,” points to the note.

Guterres supported the mediation efforts of Turkey, which has hosted several meetings in which a possible peace plan with Russia was discussed, but right now the negotiations are frozen.

The leader of United Nations, who will meet on Thursday in kyiv with the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, he has repeatedly called for a cessation of hostilities and last week sought a humanitarian truce to coincide with Orthodox Easter, but received no response from the Russian side.

Just in case there was any doubt, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, commented from New York: “We don’t think a ceasefire is a good option right now.”

Russia prior to the visit of Guterres and the UN

Within the framework of the intense diplomatic consultations, Zelensky today received the US Secretaries of State, Antony Blinken, and defense, Lloyd Austin.

“The first step to win is to believe that you can win and we believe that Ukraine can win if it receives the support it needs,” Austin assured.

Zelensky estimated in $3.4 billion US assistance, the largest contribution to strengthening Ukraine’s defense capabilities.

In this regard, the Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoli Anton, admitted to sending a note to Washington. This, to protest against the supply of weapons to kyiv.

“800 million dollars is the amount of weapons that Washington will supply to kyiv. It is a huge number and does not contribute to the search for a diplomatic solution,” Antonov said.

In his opinion, the US objective is “Raise the ante, further aggravate the situation, see more casualties.”

“We have insisted that a situation in which the US supplies Ukraine with weapons is inadmissible. We have demanded an end to this practice,” he insisted.

The Russian military attacked five train stations in central and western Ukraine on Monday. At least 5 people were killed and 20 wounded in the attacks on Vinnitsa, according to the local prosecutor’s office.

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