MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) – Russia has announced a ceasefire and a temporary withdrawal of its own troops for further evacuations of civilians from the besieged steel plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. So-called escape corridors should be set up on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time (7 a.m. to 5 p.m. CEST), the coordination staff for humanitarian measures set up by the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday evening.
“During this period, the Russian armed forces and formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic will cease all hostilities and units will be withdrawn to a safe distance,” the statement said. Civilians rescued from the Azovstal steelworks can then decide for themselves whether they want to stay in Ukraine or be taken to Russia.
Mariupol on the Sea of Azov came under siege more than two months ago shortly after the start of the Russian war of aggression and has now been largely conquered by Russian troops and pro-Russian separatists from the Donetsk region. The last remaining Ukrainian fighters are holed up at the Azovstal factory site. However, around 200 civilians who sought refuge there should also be included.
More than 150 people were rescued last weekend, but another planned evacuation operation failed earlier in the week. Ukrainian fighters recently accused Russia of having started the storming of Azovstal, which the Kremlin denied.
On Wednesday evening, however, the commander of the Ukrainian Azov regiment, Denys Prokopenko, confirmed on his Telegram channel that Russian soldiers were pushing into the factory premises for the second day in a row. However, the Ukrainian fighters have no intention of giving up./haw/DP/he