In the badly damaged Ukrainian port of Mariupol, more civilians could be evacuated this Friday from the embattled Azovstal plant.
This was announced by both UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday evening.
Details were not given.
"It is our policy not to discuss the details until it is complete so as not to undermine potential success," Guterres said.
According to the Ukrainian account, buses have already been set in motion in the direction of Mariupol.
According to Ukrainian sources, around 200 civilians are still waiting in the steelworks, the last bastion of the Mariupol defenders, for a chance to get to safety.
In two previous evacuations, mediated by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, about 500 people from Mariupol and the surrounding area were taken to Zaporizhia in Ukrainian-controlled territory.
A paramedic from the Azovstal plant asks Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for support.
"End this nightmare," asked the man, who identified himself as a Muslim Crimean Tatar by the name of Hassan, in a video message released on Thursday evening.
“People are dying here, some from bullets, others from starvation, the wounded from a lack of medication, under terrible conditions.” He asked the Turkish head of state to mediate in the conflict, to monitor the evacuation of people from the plant, including from Ukrainian military.
Plans for May 9th
According to the Ukrainian government, Russia wants to conquer the besieged steelworks by Monday.
President Zelenskyy's adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said on Thursday evening that the Azovstal plant should be captured on May 9th, the 77th anniversary of the victory over Hitler's Germany.
"The greatest gift to a ruler is his opponent's head.
I clearly see the desire to conquer Azovstal and give Putin "victory" on May 9," he was quoted as saying by the Unian agency.
"They really want that, but let's see if they can do it," said Arestovych.
The heavy attacks on the premises of the steel mill made the intentions of the Russian military clear.
A large military parade is planned in Moscow on Monday to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II.
For the celebration, Russia is aiming for military success in Ukraine.
Ukraine is said to have sunk Moscow with US help
American intelligence information has reportedly helped the Ukrainian military sink the Russian Black Sea Fleet's flagship, the missile cruiser Moskva.
However, the US government was not aware of Ukraine's plans, according to media outlets such as the Washington Post and the New York Times, citing people familiar with the matter.