Another 173 people were evacuated from the Azovstal plant – Mariupol City Council

Another 173 people were evacuated from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol

According to the Mariupol City Council, 10 buses with citizens have already arrived in the controlled territory of Ukraine.

– Thank you for this to all the heroic defenders of Azovstal. At the cost of three lives of our soldiers and six wounded soldiers managed to get and take out civilians from the territory of plant, – reported in the City Council.

They added that the Armed Forces and the Azov Regiment are not only defending themselves at the cost of their efforts, but also rescuing civilians.

– And the enemy is hitting his back at this time. Cynically, insidiously, in Russian, – it is told in the message.

The Mariupol City Council noted the assistance of the United Nations, the Red Cross and Minister Iryna Vereshchuk in organizing the evacuation of Mariupol residents.

– Anything needs to be continued, – wrote in the City Council.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also reported the successful evacuation of more than 170 people from Mariupol.

– Today the next round of evacuation of the civilian population from the Azovstal metallurgical plant and other areas around Mariupol was successfully completed. I am greatly relieved to confirm that more than 170 people who survived more than 10 weeks of intense shelling and hostilities can now receive some relief from humanitarian assistance, says Osnat Lubrani, UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine.

???? BREAKING: 170+ people just arrived in Zaporizhzhia, through a @UNOCHA – @ICRC operation. This brings the total number of people evacuated from Azovstal & Mariupol to more than 600.

The @UN will continue its efforts to reach people in need of assistance. https://t.co/is3FgxReLB pic.twitter.com/EU27DKor72

– OCHA Ukraine (@OCHA_Ukraine) May 8, 2022

It was reported there that the total number of evacuees from Mariupol has already exceeded 600 people.

– This was made possible by the determination of the UN and ICRC teams, with whom I have worked side by side for the past 10 days. Close coordination and agreement between the parties to the conflict was also vital so that we could carry out this complex operation safely, – the statement said.

They noted that their work is not over yet.

– The UN is aware of dozens of people who wanted to join the evacuation columns in recent days, but could not do so, – said in a statement.

It is noted that the humanitarian mission will continue to work with both sides of the conflict to ensure that those who wish to travel are guaranteed to do so safely and in their chosen direction.

Sources: Mariupol City Council, OCHA in Ukraine