Evacuating from Azot extremely dangerous, safer to remain in shelter - Head of Luhansk Oblast Military Administration

IRYNA BALACHUK - WEDNESDAY, 22 JUNE 2022, 09:04

As of 22 June, there are 568 people at the Azot plant in Sievierodonetsk who earlier did not want to leave by any means - now it is extremely dangerous to evacuate them, so it is safer for people to remain in shelters.

Source: Serhii Haidai, head of the Luhansk Oblast Military Administration, on the 24-hour live national television channel

Quote from Haidai: "As of today there are 568 people there, of whom 38 are children. We have offered on numerous occasions (to evacuate them - ed.). And even the day before the first bridge (to Lysychansk - ed.) was destroyed, the first deputy head of the Oblast Military Administration was there, talking to them. The National Guard also talks to them all the time, but people are reluctant to leave.

Details: Haidai said that initially there were over 1,000 people in the shelters, now there are 568 left - and these people say they will stay in Sievierodonetsk.

According to the head of the Oblast Military Administration, there are now two options for evacuating from Azot: firstly, if there is agreement at top level, there will be a ceasefire and a clearly defined route, and secondly, if people wanted to, then hypothetically it is possible to try to evacuate them.

Quote from Haidai: "But right now it has become very dangerous and for the moment it is safer to stay in shelters."

Details: Haidai noted that a "slow-paced evacuation" from Lysychansk is ongoing now, with an average of 20-50 people being evacuated daily, sometimes as many as 70. Also, Haidai said, humanitarian supplies are being brought to Lysychansk every day.

Background:

• The Russians are destroying the Azot chemical plant, with both military personnel and civilians hiding in its shelters. On the morning of 14 June, there was another targeted hit on the Azot and Stekloplastik facilities.
• On 17 June, Serhii Haidai, head of the Luhansk Oblast Military Administration, reported that it was impossible to evacuate from the bomb shelters of the Azot plant in Sievierodonetsk.
• On 18 June, Haidai said that civilians in the shelters of the Azot plant in Sievierodonetsk had earlier refused to be evacuated.