4 a.m.: A first successful evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal factory in Mariupol
A first group of civilians was extracted overnight from Saturday to Sunday from the Azovstal steelworks, the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol, in eastern Ukraine, a region where the Russian army concentrates most of his strengths.
The exit of twenty civilians from the underground of this huge industrial complex represents a great first, all previous evacuation attempts having failed, in this port city in the south-east almost completely destroyed after weeks of siege.
The Azov regiment, which defends this industrial zone, spoke of "twenty civilians, women and children".
"They have been transferred to an agreed place and we hope that they will be evacuated to Zaporizhia, in the territory controlled by Ukraine," said Svyatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the regiment in a video on Telegram.
11:14 p.m .: Turkish presidential spokesman meets with Zelensky
Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in kyiv on Saturday.
A member of NATO and an ally of Ukraine, Turkey has been trying since the start of the war to facilitate mediation between Moscow and kyiv.
The content of the discussions was not revealed.
Turkey has twice hosted direct negotiations between the two parties, on March 10 at ministerial level in Antalya (south) and on March 29 in Istanbul.
9:35 p.m .: Tarek Kaï, the special envoy of France 24, takes stock of the situation in Odessa
According to the governor of Odessa, the missiles came from Crimea.
They caused no injuries, but are part of the Russian strategy to target key infrastructure in Ukraine.
01:01
8:57 p.m .: London more determined than ever to help Ukraine, Boris Johnson tells Volodymyr Zelensky
The United Kingdom is more than ever determined to provide Ukraine with the military aid it needs to defend itself against the Russian army, Boris Johnson told his Ukrainian counterpart during a telephone interview.
"He confirmed that the UK will continue to provide more military aid to give Ukrainians the equipment they need to defend themselves," a spokesman for the British prime minister said.
Volodymyr Zelensky announced the interview on Twitter.
I keep in touch with @BorisJohnson.
Spoke about the situation on the battlefield and in the blocked Mariupol.
Discussed defensive support for Ukraine and the necessary diplomatic efforts to achieve peace.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 30, 2022
8:26 p.m .: Twenty civilians left the Azovstal site in Mariupol to be evacuated, according to the Azov regiment
"Twenty civilians, women and children (...) have been transferred to an agreed location and we hope that they will be evacuated to Zaporizhia, in the territory controlled by Ukraine," said Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov regiment in a video on Telegram.
A few hours earlier, the official Russian agency Tass announced that a group of 25 civilians, including six children, had been able to get out of Azovstal, a huge steelworks where hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians are blocked.
No attempt to evacuate Azovstal has been successful so far.
"All night, the enemy's artillery shelled the site. The ceasefire which was to begin at 6:00 a.m. (3:00 GMT) did not begin until 11:00 a.m. Since then both parties have been respecting it. The convoy evacuation we were expecting at 6 a.m. only arrived at 6.25 p.m.,” according to Sviatoslav Palamar.
"The Azov regiment continues to clear the rubble to get civilians out. We hope that this process will continue and that we will succeed in evacuating all civilians," he added.
With AFP
The summary of the
France 24 week invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 app
google-play-badge_FR