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Military operation in Ukraine

Kiev wants to sign document on evacuation from Azovstal plant - deputy premier

Irina Vereshchuk said the evacuation would be carried out in several stages, with the evacuation of heavily wounded being the first of them

KIEV, May 13. /TASS/. Kiev wants to sign a document specifying the procedure of evacuation from the besieged Azovstal plant in Mariupol, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and minister for issues of reintegration on non-controlled territories Irina Vereshchuk said.

"We have begun a new round of negotiations about a roadmap [on evacuation from Azovstal]," she said. "There is the Red Cross, they are meeting with the Russians today [on Thursday]. We talked with them [the International Committee of the Red Cross], and also with the UN, and gave them a mandate. We want a document to be signed, on how exactly the evacuation from Azovstal will be carried out, and we are getting ready for signing," Vereshchuk was quoted as saying in the ministry’s Telegram channel.

In her words, Turkey will mediate the current round of negotiations. She also said the evacuation would be carried out in several stages, with the evacuation of heavily wounded being the first of them.

On May 7, Vereshchuk announced that all civilians had been evacuated from the plant’s territory.

Mariupol is the largest city of the Sea of Azov, one of the key metallurgical centers of Donbass and a seaport. Two major ironworks are located in the city - the Ilyich metal plant and Azovstal. The Azovmash engineering plant is also situated in Mariupol.

The battles for Mariupol erupted on February 25. By now, Ukrainian nationalist formations have been driven out of Mariupol’s residential areas. Ukrainian nationalists remain holed up in Azovstal, blocked by Russian troops.

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Military operation in Ukraine

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