Ukrainians!
Our defenders!
Today we finally managed to start the evacuation of people from Azovstal. After many weeks of negotiations, after many attempts, different meetings, people, calls, countries, proposals. Finally! There was not a single day when we did not try to find a solution that would save our people.
Today, for the first time in all the days of the war, this vital corridor has started working. For the first time there were two days of real ceasefire on this territory. More than a hundred civilians have already been evacuated - women and children first of all. Who were fleeing hostilities there. At Azovstal.
Given all the complexities of the process, the first evacuees will arrive in Zaporizhzhia tomorrow morning. Hopefully this doesn’t fail. Our team will meet them there. I hope that tomorrow all the necessary conditions will be met to continue the evacuation of people from Mariupol. We plan to start at 8 am.
I am also grateful to all those who participated in the preparation of the rescue of people and who ensure this humanitarian corridor. I am grateful to everyone who held negotiations. To Iryna Vereshchuk as the coordinator of this process.
I am grateful to our intelligence. Our team - David, Andriy. And also to the partners who joined and managed to help. In particular, from the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
We will continue to do everything to evacuate our people from Azovstal, from Mariupol in general. The organization of such humanitarian corridors is one of the elements of the ongoing negotiation process. It is very complex. But no matter how difficult it was, more than 350,000 people were rescued from the areas of hostilities.
