The UN manages to evacuate civilians from the hell of Mariupol

• Direct All the last hour of the war in Ukraine

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• War in Ukraine Satellite images of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol show great devastation

Up to a thousand people, many civilians, are believed to be sheltering at the Azovstal smelter.

Yesterday afternoon, the United Nations confirmed

, mostly women and children, who had been living in the hell of Mariupol for weeks.

It was the culmination of days of unsuccessful attempts to extricate civilians from a facility that had been completely

until a few days ago, in one of the main Ukrainian port towns.

Just four kilometers of steel works controlled by Ukrainian forces in Mariupol.

The rest of the city is in the hands of Russian soldiers, backed by Ukrainian separatist brigades and Chechen support units.

A precarious ceasefire sponsored by the UN allowed the evacuations to take place, which began on Saturday with the arrival of

Before the start of the invasion, about 450,000 people lived in Mariupol.

, according to official Ukrainian sources - a number that is difficult to verify given the circumstances.

It is also estimated that some 100,000 people remain in Mariupol, living in a precarious situation.

Russia pounced on Mariupol not only with revenge - in 2014 Ukrainian troops stopped a separatist attempt - but to strengthen its dominance throughout the coastal strip of the Sea of ​​Azov, between the rebellious Donetsk and the Crimean peninsula.

Any hint of peace is a mirage

.

The Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine continues.

At the moment, the Ukrainian soldiers are trying to contain the Russian advances, which are preceded by intense artillery bombardment, with strategic withdrawals and counterattacks.

It does not always work, but the weapons received from the West and the guerrilla warfare tactics proposed by the Ukrainians, ambushing the heavy Russian convoys, have put an end to the blitzkrieg.

This reality does not imply that Moscow has lost its ability to strike inside the rear.

Yesterday, kyiv confirmed that Russian bombardments had disabled the take-off runway at Odessa airport, one of the bases that, according to Russia, were being used to transport weapons to Ukraine.

In one of his speeches, Ukrainian President

promised to rebuild the airfield: "Odessa will never forget Russia's behavior."

Not far from the coastal city, Russian troops are amassing.

Sources from the Ukrainian army assure that

, the only relevant city occupied since the beginning of the Russian offensive.

The next target, they believe, is Mykolaiv.

Its location is strategic.

If they manage to take it, they will widen the front towards Krivoy Rog, one of the towns that acts as a gateway to the heart of Ukraine.

Ukrainian leader Zelensky himself confirmed that around

.

It was a bit of good news in the midst of the disaster.

The announcement came a few hours after unexpected news: the highest-level US visit to Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion, embodied in the figure of the Speaker of the House of Representatives,

Pelosi's trip confirmed a crucial idea that can turn the tables in this war: the West, and especially the US, are willing to put all the meat on the grill to achieve Ukrainian victory.

This decision was already in the offing last week, when delegates from 40 countries met at a US base in Germany to, in the words of US Secretary of Defense

, "move to the pace of war."

According to his analysis,

This translated, last Thursday, into the approval in the US of a motion to allow

to invoke a Loan Act of 1941, approved then to expedite arms transfers to fight Nazi Germany.

In addition, the White House asked Congress for an additional 33 billion dollars (31.3 billion euros) to provide more weapons to the Ukrainian army in the coming months.

.

Although the West remains unsatisfied with its demands to close the airspace, kyiv awaits the arrival of Gepard anti-aircraft tanks from Germany.

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