Guterres: UN prepared to evacuate civilians from Mariupol

Denys Karlovskyi - Thursday, 28 April 2022, 21:45 António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, has said that the Ukrainian and Russian leadership have agreed for international organisations, in particular the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross, to organise the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol. Source: press service of the Office of the President of Ukraine According to Guterres: "During my visit to Moscow, President Putin agreed to involve the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross in the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal steel works. Mr Zelenskyy and I had an opportunity to discuss this question today. As we speak, there are intense discussions to move forward on this proposal to make it a reality. Effective humanitarian corridors, a local ceasefire, safe routes for civilians and supplies. The citizens of Mariupol are in a desperate position right now, and this is exactly what they need. Mariupol is a crisis in a crisis. Thousands of civilians are in need of essential aid, many of them elderly, ill, or disabled. They need an evacuation route from this hell." Details: Ukraine is ready to discuss details of the evacuation immediately. Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy noted that despite Putin's alleged readiness to facilitate the creation of an evacuation route for Mariupol civilians, the Russian occupying forces have continued shelling the Azovstal plant, where civilians are also hiding. The President of Ukraine added that the Russian bombardment continued even during Secretary-General Guterres's talks with Putin in Moscow on 26 April. Zelenskyy expressed his hope that with the UN's help it would be possible to ensure Mariupol's civilians can leave the city alive. He asked Guterres to help Ukrainians illegally deported to Russia return home. Background: On 26 April, Guterres and President Putin discussed the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol's Azovstal plant, under shelling by Russian troops, at Putin's infamous "long table". According to Guterres, Putin agreed to organise safe corridors to evacuate Mariupol's civilians. On 28 April, it emerged that Osnat Lubrani, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, had left for the city of Zaporizhzhia, where the evacuation of civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol is already being planned. Before his visits to Moscow and Kyiv, Secretary-General Guterres discussed the situation in Mariupol with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey. Earlier, Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, demanded that Guterres talk to Putin and discuss the evacuation of Mariupol's civilians. She said that around 1,000 women and children, as well as 500 wounded, were trapped in Azovstal's bunkers.