AFP UN announces ‘successful’ evacuation of 101 Ukrainian civilians from Azovstal plant

Lubrani posted a photo of himself on Twitter in front of a convoy with more than ten buses stopped on the way.

“People I’ve traveled with told me some scary stories about the hell they lived in. I’m thinking of everyone who fell into the trap. We’ll do our best to help them,” he wrote.

The UN stated that this withdrawal operation began last Friday, after UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s recent visits to Moscow and Kiev.

According to Lubrani, 58 people joined the convoy from Mangush, a suburb of Mariupol, and 127 were escorted to Zaporizhzhya, 230 kilometers to the northwest, in the area controlled by Ukrainian forces.

Lubrani said that other people decided not to travel by train to Zaporizhzhya.

He told the survivors that “get first humanitarian aid, first of all, health and psychological aid.”

About 80 civilians were evacuated from Azovstal on Sunday, according to Russia, and “100” according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

This massive steelworks complex is the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, a port city in southeastern Ukraine almost entirely controlled by the Russians.

Also Tuesday, the Russian army launched a “strong attack” with tank and infantry support on the steel mill in Azovstal, the last focal point of Ukrainian resistance in the city of Mariupol (southeast), briefed the battalion deputy commander. In a video message posted on Telegram of Azovstal’s battle of Sviatoslav Palamar.

“A strong offensive is currently being launched in the Azovstal area with the support of tanks and tanks and attempts to land troops supported by two ships and infantry units,” he said.

But Russian officials said “artillery and planes” were used to destroy “fire positions” of Ukrainian fighters leaving the factory.