Russia announces ceasefire around Mariupol's steel plant, Ukraine refutes humanitarian corridor claims
The port city of Mariupol has suffered a lot of damage
Russia announced on Monday that they have declared ceasefire around the Azovstal steel plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol to allow citizens to evacuate from the industrial area. The location is reportedly the home for the rest of the Ukrainian resistance in the war-ravaged port city.
The announcement was made by the Russian defense ministry and the official statement stated that Russian troops "from 14:00 Moscow time (1100 GMT) on April 25, 2022, will unilaterally stop any hostilities, withdraw units to a safe distance and ensure the withdrawal of civilians”.
The Russian authorities also said that the soldiers have been instructed to assist the citizens in the evacuation process and they will take the fleeing Ukrainians to "in any direction they have chosen".
According to an AFP report, the citizens at Azovstal were asked to ‘raise white flags’ as a means of communication with the Russian soldiers and this information will be communicated to those inside Azovstal "via radio channels" every 30 minutes once the humanitarian efforts begin at the location.
Russia grabbed control of the port city of Mariupol last week but the remaining resistance took refuge in the Azovstal region. As a result, Russian president Vladimir Putin had earlier ordered a complete blockage of the region in order to contain the movement of the Ukrainian troops.
However, Ukraine has refuted the claim as they said that no agreement has been reached between the two countries when it comes to the humanitarian corridor in the port city of Mariupol
“Unfortunately, there are no agreements on humanitarian corridors from Azovstal today,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vershchuk said on Telegram.
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