Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that its forces would open corridors this week for civilians to escape the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, where small groups have evacuated in recent days but also where Russian assaults have sought to vanquish the city’s last Ukrainian defenders.
Efforts to get people out of Mariupol, in southern Ukraine, and out of the steel plant in particular have repeatedly failed in recent weeks, as agreements to create humanitarian corridors collapsed under Russian shelling. In recent days, however, groups of civilians have managed to evacuate from the plant with the help of United Nations and Red Cross workers, raising hopes that Russian forces would allow other noncombatants to escape.
Russian forces would open corridors on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Moscow time, the Defense Ministry said. Read more
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