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Azovstal Steel Plant in Mariupol (photo taken on April 19, 2022)
Photo: ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO / REUTERS
According to an adviser to the Ukrainian president, Russia has attacked the besieged Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol with bunker-busting bombs.
"The world watches the murder of children online and is silent," wrote advisor Mykhailo Podolyak on Twitter.
The Mariupol city government announced on Monday that more than 1,000 civilians had found shelter in basements under the Azovstal complex.
Podolyak called on "religious and secular leaders" to organize humanitarian corridors.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the situation in Mariupol could not be more difficult.
The Russian military is blocking all attempts to organize humanitarian corridors and rescue Ukrainian citizens, the politician said in his nightly video message, which was published on Telegram on Wednesday night.
Attempts were made to "deport" or mobilize into the Russian troops residents of the city who were in the hands of Russian units.
Unfortunately, Zelenskyy said, no responses were received to the proposal for an exchange that would allow saving civilians and the city's defenders.
He did not provide any further information about the exchange.
The information provided by Zelenskyy and Podolyak could not be independently verified.
The situation in the badly damaged Mariupol is dramatic.
Russia wants to take complete control of the strategically important port city and once again called on hundreds of Ukrainian fighters in a steel mill to surrender on Tuesday.
However, they refused.
Moscow announced in the evening that no one had used the corridor so far.
This was followed by another announcement of a unilateral ceasefire including a "humanitarian corridor" from the steelworks for Wednesday, 2:00 p.m. Moscow time (1:00 p.m. CET).
In the course of this ceasefire, Ukrainian fighters could surrender and civilians could be evacuated, according to a statement by Russian Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev on Tuesday evening.
In recent weeks, both sides have repeatedly accused each other of sabotaging the escape of civilians.
bbr/Reuters/dpa