Casablanca – After weeks of intense bombing in eastern Ukraine, Russian forces are now intensifying their campaign to overtake the Azovstal steel mill, with the latest assaults having resulted in the evacuation of hundreds of Ukrainians.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict reached its 70th day today, and explosions are still being reported in various Ukrainian cities.
After being trapped for many days in the besieged city of Mariupol, around 100 residents had been evacuated from the Azovstal steel mill, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
In a tweet yesterday, the UN said that it had successfully evacuated more than a hundred individuals from the Azovstal steel mill.
President Zelensky announced in a Facebook video on Tuesday evening that 156 individuals had been evacuated and arrived in Zaporizhia, a Ukrainian-controlled town 230 kilometers northwest of Mariupol.
Zelenskyy accused Russian soldiers of violating the truce by continuing to attack the Azovstal steel facility and attempting to storm it.
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“I am grateful to all of those on whom the rescue of these people depended. Who agreed and who helped. I am grateful to everyone who ensured the physical movement of people through the humanitarian corridor,” Zelenskyy added.
The head of Ukrainian railroads, Oleksandr Kamyshin, stated that strikes carried out by Russian armed forces on Tuesday damaged six railway stations in Ukraine’s central and western regions.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Verechtchuk said that a new evacuation operation is planned for Wednesday, “if the security situation allows.”
According to Ukrainian MP Kira Rudik, while as many as 156 residents have managed to flee the besieged city of Mariupol into Ukraine-controlled Zaporizhzhia, over 30 children remain trapped within Mariupol’s Azovstal steel complex, which Russia’s Ministry of Defense has “securely secured.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered his troops to blockade the Azovstal steel complex in Mariupol, where hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers were still battling in the besieged port city’s last standoff.
Speaking on Tuesday in support of Ukraine, US President Joe Biden stated that the US had offered more than $3 billion in security assistance to the country.
“Since Russia invaded Ukraine just over two months ago, we have sent more than $3 billion in security assistance to Ukraine — alone, us — not counting our Allies. And that money is a direct investment in defending freedom and democracy itself,” Biden declared.
He added, “I urge the Congress to pass this funding quickly to help Ukraine continue to succeed against Russian aggression, just as they did when they won the Battle of Kyiv, and to make sure the United States and our Allies can replenish our own stocks of weapons to replace what we’ve sent to Ukraine.”
