About 2,000 Russian soldiers were left wounded and shot at Mariupol, which is the equivalent of about two tactical battalions, according to the United States. It is located around the steel mills of Azovstal, where the last Ukrainian soldiers in the city took refuge.
The ground offensive continues in the region, despite former Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to isolate and not storm steel plants, Britain’s Ministry of Defense wrote in its latest intelligence analysis.
The report stated that “renewed attempts to secure the Azov figures and take over the entire Mariupol may be linked to the upcoming Victory Day on May 9 and Putin’s desire for symbolic success in Ukraine.”
New Evacuations Friday
Nearly 500 civilians were evacuated from the city and steel plants this week, according to the Ukrainian presidency.
A new column of vehicles organized by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross hopes to arrive Friday morning to evacuate nearly 200 civilians, according to the mayor of Mariupol, who are hiding in tunnels under steel plants.
“We must continue to do everything in our power to get people out of this hell,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshuk told AFP that the evacuations on Friday would focus on those trapped in steel plants.
UNICEF: Cease-fire is collapsing
Russia promised that the troops in the steel plants would stop fighting for three days, between 07-17, starting Thursday, but the information on the ceasefire was adhered to yesterday.
– We’ve had a lot of unilateral ceasefires that have collapsed and always end with civilian casualties. We need more evacuations, says James Elder, a spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), to Morning Studio on Friday.
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