Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the process of evacuating civilians from the Azovstal complex in the city of Mariupol began on Sunday, with the help of the United Nations, while one person was injured in a fire that broke out in a facility belonging to the Russian Defense Ministry in the south of Russia and near the border with Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president stated in a tweet on his Twitter account that about 100 civilians have been evacuated from the Azovstal complex so far, and work is underway to evacuate more civilians trapped in the complex.
And Reuters reported that the evacuees were transported in vehicles bearing the United Nations logo, indicating a deal to ease the ordeal arising from the most devastating blockade during the Ukraine war, which has been going on since February 24.
The agency added that about 54 civilians arrived today, Sunday, at a temporary shelter in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, after they managed to leave the Azovstal complex area.
⚡A column of cars with 🇺🇳UN logos has arrived in Mariupol.
Reportedly, evacuation is underway pic.twitter.com/F3k5OET9sE
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) April 30, 2022
The Russian Defense Ministry had said that 46 civilians were evacuated in two groups of residential areas adjacent to the "Azovstal" region through a humanitarian corridor that opened on Saturday.
The Russian Foreign Ministry accused the Ukrainian forces of holding civilians hostage in the Azovstal complex and preventing them from leaving, as it put it.
UN censorship
The Russian RIA Novosti agency said that the evacuation was carried out under the supervision of staff of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, stressing that these civilians were transferred to a temporary shelter in the village of Bizymenoye, Donetsk region.
A spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that the United Nations is overseeing safe passage for civilians from the steel plants in Azovstal, and the spokesman added that no further details could be disclosed so as not to jeopardize their safety.
Russian forces took control of all of Mariupol except for the Azovstal Steel Complex, which is the last stronghold of the Ukrainian forces and resistance in Mariupol.
Ukrainian officials estimate there are about 2,000 soldiers inside the compound, along with about 1,000 civilians sheltering in underground tunnels.
Russian lands
The Governor of the Russian Belgorod Province, Gennady Gladkov, announced that a fire broke out in one of the facilities of the Russian Ministry of Defense in the region near the border with Ukraine. The fire resulted in the injury of a resident of the region.
Helicopters were reportedly circling in Belgorod 30 minutes before the explosion. https://t.co/eb4iu8vQxe pic.twitter.com/eBkMpQCMXw
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) May 1, 2022
The governor of Belgorod explained that the data is currently being investigated, and whether the fire caused casualties or injured.
Gladkov stressed that all relevant agencies are taking all necessary measures to provide security.
Eyewitnesses reported on social media that an explosion was heard before the fire broke out.
Last month, Russia accused the Ukrainian side of launching a helicopter attack on a fuel depot in Belgorod, but Kyiv denied responsibility for the attack.
Moscow also accused Ukraine of bombing villages and firing missiles at an ammunition depot inside Russian territory.
On the battlefronts, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that it had shot down two Ukrainian Su-24 fighters in the Kharkiv province, adding that Russian aviation had destroyed two S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems. -300) in the cities of Zaporozhye (southeast) and Oretimovsk (east).
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the losses of the Ukrainian forces since the beginning of the military operation have risen to 145 planes, 112 helicopters, 672 drones, 281 anti-aircraft missile systems, 2703 tanks and armored combat vehicles.
Odessa bombing
After Moscow targeted Odessa airport on Saturday and destroyed large parts of it, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that the Russian "Onyx" missiles destroyed a depot of American and European weapons and ammunition near Odessa.
In turn, the Odessa city council announced that the Ukrainian air defenses had shot down a Russian drone over the city.
The Russian targeting extended to Mykolaiv, whose governor said that Russian forces had bombed a fertilizer factory in the city.
The Southern Operations Command of the Ukrainian forces said that fighting continues on the Kherson and Mykolaiv fronts, as the Russian army continues to reinforce its positions there.
Kherson Developments
The Ukrainian Communications Authority reported that Russian forces cut off communications and the Internet in Kherson and parts of Zaporozhye, amid fears of declaring the establishment of a People's Republic in Kherson and declaring its accession to Russia, similar to the regions of Lugansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian army stated that its forces bombed yesterday and today the headquarters of the Russian Second Army in Izyum, near the city of Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine.
It is worth noting that Russia launched its war on Ukraine on February 24, followed by international rejection and severe economic and financial sanctions against Moscow, which require Kyiv to abandon plans to join military entities and adhere to complete neutrality, which it promises to end its operation. The latter is a violation of its sovereignty.