The Ukrainian presidency announced this Friday (04.29.2022) that an “operation” to evacuate civilians trapped in the Azovstal steel mill, which occupies about 11 square kilometers, besieged by Russian forces in Mariupol, in southeastern Ukraine.
Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, including dozens of children, are blocked according to kyiv in this huge steel plant in Azovstal, along with the last fighters resisting the Russian forces in the strategic port. The mayor’s office estimates that the balance of the fighting in Mariúpol is at least 20,000 dead.
The UN has called for an “immediate” truce in Mariupol to allow the evacuation of civilians trapped in that city that had half a million inhabitants before the Russian invasion that began on February 24, according to estimates by the Ukrainian authorities.
lgc (afp/lusa)