Max Hunder

(Reuters). Ukraine on Monday denied reaching an agreement in which Russia would evacuate civilians living near a Mariupol-based steel plant.

Russia stated earlier that on Monday it would create a humanitarian corridor so civilians could leave Azovstal’s steel plant. They are currently surrounded by Ukrainian fighters and have suffered heavy losses.

“Today, Russia announced that there is a route for civilians to exit Azovstal. “This could have been believed, if the Russians hadn’t destroyed humanitarian corridors many other times,” Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister wrote via Telegram.

“It’s important to know that humanitarian corridors can only be opened with the consent of both parties. Unannounced corridors do not guarantee security and are not humanitarian corridors.

According to her, Ukraine “appealed U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres for the role of initiator and guarantor in the humanitarian corridor Azovstal to civilians.”

She stated that representatives of the United Nations as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross must be at any establishment of a humanitarian corridor.

This week, Guterres will hold negotiations in Moscow and Ukraine. Russia’s RIA news agency reported that the Russian foreign minister stated that Moscow wanted to talk about issues related to Mariupol, the Azovstal and other matters.

After two months under Russian bombardment and siege, the last Ukrainian defense of Mariupol is now in hiding.

The general staff of Ukraine reported Russian attacks and shelling along most the front in eastern Ukraine on Monday. These included missile- and bomb attack on the steelworks.

Moscow describes the actions it took in Ukraine as a special military operation and denies any targeting of civilians. The repeated failures of humanitarian corridors is ascribed to Ukraine.