(CNN) — More than 100 civilians have been evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday. The effort is being led by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations.
After the evacuation, the steel plant came under attack again on Sunday night, according to a Ukrainian soldier in Mariupol. The city council said evacuations from the southern city had been halted until Monday.
Here are some other developments:
Evacuation of Mariupol is underway, says adviser to the mayor
An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol said that the evacuation of the city’s residents has begun.
“According to our information, the buses left from Mariupol. According to the preliminary agreement, the buses will pick up people in the town of Mangush and Berdyansk,” Petro Andriushchenko told RFE/RL, adding that people can join the column on their own. .
“We hope that thousands of our Mariupol residents who got stuck on the way from Mariupol to Zaporizhia… will arrive in Zaporizhia tonight or tomorrow morning.”
However, the evacuation appears to be progressing very slowly.
The Zaporizhia city council said the buses had not yet reached the main gathering point: a shopping center on the northwestern edge of the city.
An evacuation of the besieged city had also been planned for Sunday afternoon, but did not take place.
This general evacuation is different from the one involving the civilians who have been trapped in the Azovstal steelworks.
So far it is not known if a second phase of that evacuation will begin on Monday.
“Turbulent” night at the Azovstal plant
A satellite image shows an overview of the destruction at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 29. (Maxar Technologies/Archyde.com).
A Ukrainian commander inside the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol said his men experienced a turbulent night after the first batch of evacuees were able to leave the plant on Sunday.
“As soon as the evacuation of civilians was completed yesterday, the enemy began to use all kinds of weapons. The night was restless,” said Denys Shleha, commander of the 12th Operational Brigade of the National Guard.
“naval artillery [rusa] he worked in Azovstal from 2 am to 3 am. In the morning he became calmer.”
It is not clear if another group of civilians trapped inside the compound will be able to leave on Monday.
“I will not say anything about the evacuation of Azovstal. We are doing everything to do it, we are begging for it,” Shleha said.
He said about 200 people, including 20 children, remain at the scene.
“We beg people to withdraw from Azovstal. The enemy is attacking with all kinds of weapons. Everything is very bad,” he said.
“The biggest problem is the wounded soldiers. Our field hospital was bombed a few days ago. Medical care is provided to the military in extremely difficult conditions. Currently there are about 500 of them in Azovstal. His injuries are of varying severity. This is the biggest problem that needs to be solved,” Shleha said.
Shleha also spoke of the need to get the remaining fighters out of the plant.
“After the evacuation of civilians and wounded, it is necessary to resolve the problems with the garrison. Our men did everything possible and impossible for the state of the world during these 68 days,” he said.
UN-backed convoy to try to leave Mariupol on Monday
In this image provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross, a Red Cross official waves a white flag as he approaches the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol on Sunday. (International Committee of the Red Cross/AP)
A convoy supported by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross will try to leave Mariupol on Monday, the city council said in a Telegram post.
“There are good news. With the support of the UN and the Red Cross, two additional places were agreed today to place people in the evacuation convoy that will depart from Mariupol.
The convoy will pick up the civilians at various collection points around Mariupol before taking them to two villages near the southern Ukrainian city of Berdyansk, according to the city council.
Local authorities on Sunday halted civilian evacuations from Mariupol, which has endured weeks of Russian bombing and airstrikes, for “security reasons.”
Before the break, some 100 people were successfully evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steelworks. According to recent estimates, approximately 100,000 civilians still remain in the city.
Last week, during a personal meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in principle to allow the UN and the Red Cross to assist in civilian evacuations from Mariupol.
More than 5.5 million refugees have fled Ukraine
More than 5.5 million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in late February, according to the latest data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
In addition to the 5,563,959 registered refugees, at least 7.7 million people are internally displaced in Ukraine as they are forced to flee their homes, according to the latest report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Some 8.3 million refugees are expected to flee Ukraine, the UNHCR said on Tuesday.
Lavrov claims that Hitler “had Jewish blood” and unleashes the fury of the Israeli government
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a news conference in Moscow, Russia, on April 27. (Yuri Kochetkov/AP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said over the weekend that Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler had “Jewish blood,” prompting a furious response from Israel on Monday.
“Foreign Minister Lavrov’s comments are both an inexcusable and outrageous statement and a terrible historical mistake,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
“Jews did not commit suicide in the Holocaust. The lowest level of racism against Jews is accusing Jews themselves of anti-Semitism.”
Lavrov made the comments on Italian television on Sunday, repeating Russia’s claim that its invasion of Ukraine is to “de-Nazify” the country.
He shrugged off the fact that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is Jewish.
“The [Zelensky] raises an argument: what kind of Nazism can they have if he is Jewish. I may be wrong, but Hitler also had Jewish blood. It means absolutely nothing. The wise Jewish people say that the most ardent anti-Semites are usually Jews,” Lavrov said.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to Israel on Monday over Lavrov’s remarks. Israel said that he was “completely unfounded” to say that Hitler was of Jewish descent.
And he criticized Russia’s labeling of Ukrainians as Nazis.
“Just as serious is calling Ukrainians in general, and President Zelensky in particular, Nazis. This, among other things, is a complete distortion of history and a serious affront to the victims of Nazism,” Dayan said on Twitter.
Nancy Pelosi meets with the President of Poland in Warsaw
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, Poland on May 2. (Janek Skarzynski/AFP/Getty Images)
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw on Monday to discuss increased support for Ukraine.
Footage shows the couple shaking hands and sitting down for a chat with a congressional delegation.
The visit comes shortly after Pelosi made an unannounced trip to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Saturday, becoming the highest-ranking US official to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky since the war broke out more than two months ago.
In a statement on Sunday, Pelosi said the meetings with Duda would be “focused on further strengthening our partnership, offering our gratitude for Poland’s humanitarian leadership, and discussing how we can continue to work together to support Ukraine.”