Humanitarian corridor for civilians from Mariupol’s Azovstal plant opened: Russia

Russian and Donbass forces announced a ceasefire around the besieged Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol starting from 2pm Moscow time Monday. This will allow civilians to evacuate to safety, the Russian Defense Ministry said, Russia Today (RT) reported.

Armed units will “withdraw to a safe distance and maintain the exit of civilians from the said area in any direction they choose,” said Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, the head of Russia’s National Defense Management Center.

Mainly, Russian and Donbass troops control the city, however, a number of Ukrainian soldiers have been holed up in Azovstal.

However, last week, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that roughly 1,000 civilians remained in the mill as well.

According to Mizintsev, there were “no obstacles” for civilians to leave the Azovstal plant, other than “the decision of Kyiv and the commanders of nationalist units to use civilians as a human shield.”

Earlier, Moscow offered Ukrainian fighters the opportunity to lay down their arms and surrender. They refused.