GENEVA, May 2. /TASS/. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is participating in efforts to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol, the organization said in a statement.
According to the document, "an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team is currently participating in an operation to facilitate the safe passage of civilians out of the Azovstal plant and Mariupol" towards Zaporozhye. "This complex operation is conducted in coordination with the parties to the conflict and the United Nations," the ICRC noted. "As a neutral and impartial humanitarian intermediary, the ICRC has been facilitating the dialogue between the parties on the safe passage of civilians since late February," the organization added.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky announced on Sunday that the evacuation of civilians from Azovstal would resume at 8:00 am on May 2. He said earlier that about 100 civilians had been evacuated from the facility and were headed to Zaporozhye.
A group of 25 civilians, including six children, earlier left Azovstal and were taken to the Bezymennoye settlement in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Forty people were evacuated to the settlement on May 1. An eyewitness told TASS that some 300 civilians might remain at the plant.