20 civilians evacuated from Azovstal, but wounded soldiers ignored – Azov

ALENA MAZURENKO - SATURDAY, 30 APRIL 2022, 20:34

Deputy Commander of the Azov Regiment Sviatoslav Palamar ("Kalyna") said that Ukrainian fighters had rescued 20 civilians from the ruins at Azovstal and handed them over for evacuation to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Source: Azov Regiment on Telegram

Quote: "The enemy artillery fired all night on the territory of the plant, which caused new blockages and destruction. The ceasefire, which was supposed to start at 6 am, did not start until 11 am, and yes, it is true, as of now both parties are maintaining the ceasefire.

From 6 am onwards we were waiting for the evacuation convoy, which did not arrive until 6.25 pm. As of 7.40 pm, we have transferred 20 civilians, who were rescued from the rubble, to the agreed location. These are women and children. We hope that these people will go in the agreed direction, namely Zaporizhzhia.

Right now the Azov Regiment is carrying out a special rescue operation in which we are rescuing civilians from under the rubble. We hope that the process will continue and we will be able to evacuate all the civilians.

Regarding the wounded. These are people who need medical care, but we do not know why they are not being taken away and there is no question of their evacuation to the territory controlled by Ukraine.

I emphasise that we are asking for a guarantee for the departure not only of civilians, but also our wounded servicemen who need medical care."

Details: On one of the TV channels, a Ukrainian serviceman said that most likely, several wounded servicemen may die on 30 April because the medics have no operating room, no equipment and no medicines.

Background:

•       Mariupol has been besieged by the Russian army since 1 March. Defenders of Ukraine gathered at the Azovstal plant: the Azov Regiment, part of the Marines, border guards and the National Guard. There, in the dungeons of the plant, civilians are hiding from Russian bombs and shelling.
•       Finding themselves trapped, Mariupol's defenders called on the world to agree on the "extraction" procedure used in Dunkirk during World War II. In particular, the Marines asked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to apply the "extraction" procedure to them and take them to Turkey.
•       UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres suggested in both Kyiv and Moscow that the UN coordinate evacuation efforts from Mariupol. UN Resident & Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine Osnat Lubrani left for Zaporizhzhia on 28 April to prepare for the evacuation from Mariupol.
•       Ukrainian authorities had hoped to evacuate civilians, and possibly wounded soldiers too, from the Azovstal plant on 29 April. But that didn't happen on Friday.