Russia accuses Ukraine of preventing civilians from leaving Azovstal...

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Russia accused on Monday the Ukrainian authorities of preventing civilians holed up with Ukrainian fighters in the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, southeastern Ukraine, from leaving despite the Russian army's announcement of a ceasefire.

In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that Russian forces and Ukrainian fighters, who are loyal to Moscow pledged to unilaterally stop hostilities at 14:00 Moscow time (1100 GMT), withdraw units to a safe distance and ensure the departure of civilians "in the direction they choose."

The ministry explained that the people allowed to go out are women, children and factory employees.

"If there are still civilians in the factory, we are clearly asking the Kyiv authorities to order the (Ukrainian) nationalist groups to release them," it said.

In the evening, the Russian military announced in a statement that at 5 pm GMT, "no one used the suggested humanitarian corridor."

The Russian military confirmed that "the Kyiv authorities have once again recklessly undermined this humanitarian operation," accusing the Ukrainian regime of "open indifference" to the fate of its citizens.

It is worth mentioning that the steel plant is the last remaining Ukrainian outpost in the port city, which has been obstructed by Russian forces for much of the last weeks of attack.

While the buildings of the steel plant were largely destroyed on the roof, a vast network of underground halls enabled the Ukrainian fighters to hold out.

From his side, Russian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy assured that around a thousand civilians and hundreds of wounded are still holed up in the plant amidst catastrophic conditions and suffering from food and water shortage.

On this subject, Russia has repeatedly demanded the surrender of fighters in Azovstal, which it describes as foreign extremists and mercenaries.

From its end, Ukraine has warned that it will cut off negotiations with Russia if the last of its fighters in Azovstal were killed.