Official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova. File photoMOSCOW, April 21World leaders in the situation around Azovstal can only help one thing — to convince everyone at this enterprise to use the gum corridor, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. She quoted Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk, who said that Azovstal is now there are «about 1,000 civilians and 500 wounded soldiers.» Zakharova also referred to the words of Vereshchuk, in which she called on world leaders and the international community to focus their efforts on Azovstal, calling it a «key point for humanitarian efforts.»
Official Kyiv disrupted the humanitarian operation at Azovstal»I draw the attention of Vereshchuk and the world leaders «disturbed by her»: the humanitarian corridor from the territory of Azovstal has been open for a long time. The Russian Armed Forces have repeatedly stated this. World leaders can only help one thing — to convince all those who are use it at Azovstal,” Zakharova wrote in her official Telegram channel. Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the leadership of the Russian Federation guarantees the preservation of life, complete safety and the provision of qualified medical care to all who lay down their arms. It was noted that Russia has repeatedly, including by the example of Ukrainian marines who laid down their arms and surrendered, in practice has already confirmed its humane attitude towards prisoners of war, full compliance with international humanitarian law.
Nuland believes that NATO can participate in the evacuation from MariupolAt the time of the proclamation of the DPR in 2014, Mariupol with a population of about 450 thousand people was the second city of the republic after Donetsk, but in June of the same year, Ukrainian security forces regained control of Mariupol. On March 7, 12 days after the start of the Russian special operation to demilitarize Ukraine, the deputy commander of the Vostok battalion, Alexander Semyonov, announced that the city was surrounded, and a cleansing of its individual districts had begun. The official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, said on April 16 that the entire city territory had been cleared of the Ukrainian army, foreign mercenaries and neo-Nazis from the Azov regiment (against whose militants a criminal case was initiated in Russia). The remnants of the Ukrainian group are blocked at the Azovstal metallurgical plant. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.» According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, as of March 25, the main tasks of the first stage were completed — they significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass. On April 19, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced the start of the next phase of the special operation.
