Dozens leave Mariupol plant as Pelosi slams Russian ‘bullies’

Dozens of citizens have left a besieged steel plant in Ukraine’s Mariupol city, Russia said on Sunday, as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledged to support Ukraine against Russian “bullies” after visiting Kyiv. Was.

Russia’s defense ministry said a total of 46 civilians had left in two groups on Saturday from the area around the Azovstal plant – the last base of Ukrainian forces in the city.

The United Nations confirmed that a “safe passage operation” is underway in Azhovstal in coordination between the Red Cross and Russian and Ukrainian forces but declined to give details due to security concerns.

The development has raised hopes of a long-awaited evacuation from the plant, where Ukrainian fighters say they and hundreds of civilians are sheltering from relentless Russian bombings.

His fate has drawn condemnation around the world.

Pope Francis used his weekly Angelus prayer on Sunday to renew his appeal for humanitarian corridors from Mariupol, saying the city had been “bombed and destroyed in a blatant manner”.

The Russian invasion that began on February 24 killed thousands and displaced millions.

Western powers rushed to send military aid to Ukraine and imposed heavy sanctions on Russia.

“Don’t be bullied,” Ms Pelosi told reporters at a news conference in Rzczów, southern Poland, after returning from Ukraine.

“If they’re threatening, you can’t back down. That’s my view. We’re here to fight and you can’t go to bully,” she said.

Ms Pelosi meets with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky In Kyiv on Saturday, he became the senior-most American man to travel since the war began.

He told them, “We are going to visit you to thank you for your freedom fight… We have a commitment that we will be with you until the fight is over.”

Ms Pelosi also promised to implement a $33 billion (31 billion euro) arms and support package announced by US President Joe Biden last week.

The conflict is centered in the east and south of Ukraine, although there have been Russian missile strikes across the country, mainly targeting infrastructure and supply lines.

Mariupol is an important strategic center connecting the southern and eastern parts of Russian-occupied Ukraine.

“On April 30, following the imposition of the ceasefire and the opening of the humanitarian corridor, two groups of civilians have left residential buildings adjacent to the site of the Azovstal Steel Plant,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram on Sunday.

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A group of 21 people were taken to Bezimen, a village in the Azov Sea near Mariupol, which is controlled by the Russian military, the ministry said, following what happened to the others.

“Accommodation, food and necessary medical aid were provided to all citizens,” the ministry said.

A video from the ministry showed a convoy of cars and buses traveling in the dark with “Z” written on it, the letter used by the Russian military in the conflict.

“Radio silence on the evacuation pending official information”, Petro Andryshchenko, an adviser to the Mayor of Mariupol, said on Telegram.

On Saturday, Ukrainian forces guarding the Azovstal site said 20 civilians, including children, had left the area and hoped they would be allowed access to the city of Zaporizhzhya, which is under Ukrainian control.

Russia’s defense ministry also said on Sunday that it used high-precision Onyx missiles to attack a hangar at a military air base stocked with arms and ammunition from the United States and European countries and destroyed the runway. .

Ukrainian officials reported the attack on Saturday but only said it destroyed the runway.

Ukrainian police also reported on Saturday three bodies found with their hands tied with their hands shot in the head, near Buka, Kyiv, which has been synonymous with Russian war crimes charges.

Police said in a statement that the victims were found in a pit and were “brutally executed” by Russian soldiers.

“The victims’ hands were tied, their eyes were covered with cloth and some were strangled. There are torture marks on the corpses,” the statement said.

Ukraine’s prosecutors say they have identified more than 8,000 war crimes committed by Moscow soldiers and are probing 10 Russian soldiers for suspected atrocities in Bucha.

Russia has denied any involvement in the civilian deaths in Bucha.

Meanwhile, Russia has moved to tighten its grip on territories under its control and introduced the Russian ruble – initially to be used with the Ukrainian hryvnia – in the area of ​​Kherson from Sunday.

“From May 1, we will move to the ruble zone,” Kirill Stremosov, a civil and military administrator from Kherson, was told earlier by Russia’s state news agency. ria novosti,

He added that there will be a period of four months in which the hryvnia can be used, but then “we will completely switch to settlements in rubles”.

On the front lines in the east, Russian troops have advanced slowly but steadily in some areas – helped by the massive use of artillery – but Ukrainian forces have captured some areas in recent times, notably the city of Kharkiv. nearby.

One of the areas taken back from Russian control was the village of Ruska Lozova, which the evacuees said had been occupied for two months.

“It was two months of terrible fear. Nothing more, a terrible and relentless fear,” told Natalia, a 28-year-old evacuee of Ruska Lozova. AFP After reaching Kharkiv.

Kyiv has acknowledged that Russian forces have captured several villages in the Donbass region and asked Western powers to deliver more heavy weapons to strengthen their defenses there.

“Everyone understands that we must defend the line here,” said Lieutenant Yevgen Samoylov of the 81st Brigade AFP As his unit moved away from the front line near the city of Sviatogirsk.

“We can’t let the enemy come close, we try to capture him with all our might,” he said.