• Wion
  • /World
  • /Russia attacks Azovstal steel plant with artillery and planes

Russia attacks Azovstal steel plant with artillery and planes

Russia attacks Azovstal steel plant with artillery and planes

Smoke rises from the grounds of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol

The Ukraine Army said on Tuesday that Russia had launched a "powerful assault" on the Azovstal steel plant even as the UN claimed at least 101 civilians were evacuated from Mariupol city.

Russia had said it was targeting the Azovstal steel plant with artillery and planes. Reports claimed earlier that at least 1000 Ukrainian troops including severalcivilians were trapped at the strategic steel factory as Russia continues to bombard the city.

Also Read in Pics:Hitler's 'Jewish' blood: An old conspiracy theory

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Mariupol has been low on food, electricity and water due to weeks of Russian bombing. President Volodymyr Zelensky had said earlier that at least hundred civilians were evacuated from the steel plant.

Russia's defence ministry said its forces along with "Donetsk People's Republic are beginning to destroy firing positions" of Ukrainian troops.

Watch:US says Russia plans to annex Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly told French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that the West should halt military supply to Ukraine.

"The Russian side is still open to dialogue," Putin told Macron even as the French president asserted that the global food chain was under threat due to the war in Ukraine.

Amid the war in Ukraine, Pope Francis said he would like to meet the Russian president and that he "was willing to go to Moscow". However, the Pope said he hadn't received a response after relaying the message to the Russian leader.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Watch WION LIVE Here

About the Author