First civilians escape besieged Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine’s Mariupol

First civilians escape besieged Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine’s Mariupol. Women and children are among the people who have successfully been evacuated, according to reports.

On Saturday, April 30, a group of civilians were successfully evacuated from Mariupol’s  Azovstal steel plant. The news was announced by Russian media and a Ukrainian official.

The tunnel network hidden beneath the steelworks reportedly houses around 1,000 soldiers along with possibly as many civilians. People trapped in the steelworks include elderly people, women and children and food sources and water are said to be limited. Medication is said to be in limited supply too.

As reported by The Express, around 20 civilians have been evacuated successfully so far. It is hoped that the United Nations will be able to secure the evacuation of more civilians.

Despite Ukrainian officials not saying how many people are at the steel plant, Russian forces believe that around 2,000 people are at the site.

Saviano Abreu a UN humanitarian spokesperson, has been unable to provide too many details on the situation due to the “complexity and fluidity” of the evacuation operation.

Mr Abreu revealed: “There are, right now, ongoing, high-level engagements with all the governments, Russia and Ukraine, to make sure that you can save civilians and support the evacuation of civilians from the plant.”

On Saturday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Russian soldiers to save their own lives. He commented: “Every Russian soldier can still save his own life.”

Zelenskyy went on to add: “It’s better for you to survive in Russia than to perish on our land.”

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