Zelenskyy: I believe that there is a chance to save people from Azovstal

Alyona Mazurenko -  Tuesday, 3 May 2022, 23:44

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that there is a chance to save people from the blockaded Azovstal steelworks.

Source: Presidential video address

Quote: "We will continue to do everything to get all our people out of Mariupol and Azovstal. It's difficult. But we need everyone who remains there: civilians and military personnel. There was not a day when we did not address this issue, when our people did not try to resolve this issue.

Yes, we managed to achieve a ceasefire for almost three days in order to make the humanitarian corridor operate.

Now the Russian troops are not adhering to the agreements. They continue massive strikes at Azovstal. They are trying to storm the complex.

However, I have been told many times that no-one can be saved. That it is impossible. And yet today 156 people have made it to Zaporizhzhia. This is not a victory yet, but already a result. And I believe that there is a chance to save our other people."

Details: Zelenskyy reiterated that 156 people have been evacuated from Azovstal in Mariupol. They have already reached Zaporizhzhia.

Background:

• Azovstal General Director, Enver Tskitishvili, said the Soviet-era bomb shelters could withstand a direct hit by a nuclear warhead.
• On the night of 3 May, Russian aircraft dropped powerful bombs on the steelworks, and during the day the aggressors started to storm Azovstal. Two civilian women were killed in the bombing.
• On 2 May, fighters from the National Guard of Ukraine, who have been defending Mariupol, called on the international community and Ukrainian top military and political leadership to do everything possible to evacuate civilians who remain at the plant, wounded soldiers and the bodies of the deceased. They expressed their hope that the entire military garrison would be saved.
• Ukrainian Defenders managed to kill 5 Russian invaders in defence despite Russian shelling. A massive fire had broken out following the Russian bombardment on 2 May.

On 1 May, with the assistance of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, Ukrainian authorities managed to evacuate part of the civilian population sheltered from the Russian aggressors in the bunkers of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. The convoy of evacuees arrived in Zaporizhzhia in the afternoon on 3 May.