Zelensky asks UN Secretary-General to help save lives at Mariupol steel plant

Kyiv, Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on Wednesday, April 4, asked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for help in rescuing the trapped people from Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol. The President of Ukraine spoke to his counterpart on a phone call.

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“The lives of the people left there are in danger. Each of them is important to us. We ask for your assistance in saving them . ” – Zelensky told the UN Secretary-General. 

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On May 3, 112 people were evacuated from the Azovstal plant, the only site in Mariupol which is under control by Ukraine. There has been no evacuation from Azovstal since. 

He also called on the United Nations to “help in removing all the wounded from Azovstal,” a statement from his office said.

The statement came as Ukraine said that there were intense battles with the Russian army at the plant, where Ukrainian troops had been holed up for weeks.

The Ukrainian President Zelensky also expressed his gratitude to Guterres for evacuations earlier this week led by the United Nations and the Red Cross (ICRC), which brought over 100 individuals out of the Azovstal complex to safety.

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“The whole world has learned regarding the UN and the ICRC position. This has revealed that international organizations can be effective,” he said.

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He “expressed hope for successfully continuing the ongoing evacuation process.”

As the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war entered its 71st day today, Russian troops attacked several people on Tuesday by unleashing rockets on a steel plant in Ukraine as the EU prepared to slap Moscow with oil sanctions.

However, it has been two days since the Russian troops entered the plant. Denis Prokopenko, the commander of the Azov Regiment, who is at the Azovstal plant, said there were heavy, fierce battles inside the factory.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and since March 1, the city of Mariupol has been under siege. The Ukrainian side only controls the Azovstal plant. 

The factory was destroyed by the Russians; however, Mariupol guards fled to bunkers and tunnels. There are also civilians in the tunnels, and according to reports, there are 500 wounded soldiers on the territory of the plant.