Spokesperson for United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric said it was not yet possible to know how many civilians remained at the Azovstal factory in Mariupol.
Speaking to reporters at a briefing at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday, Dujarric called gathering intelligence outside the region “extremely challenging.”
“It’s in the middle of an active war zone, parts of it have been destroyed; there are people living in tunnels,” Dujarric said.
“It is very difficult for us to have an exact number. We continue to work in partnership, of course, hand in hand, with the ICRC [Comitê Internacional da Cruz Vermelha] and dealing with the highest levels of Ukraine and Russia to get more people out of the Mariupol region as well as planting crops.”
Earlier, United Nations Special Envoy for Ukraine Martin Griffiths said another convoy was expected to arrive at the Azovstal factory on Friday morning.
Those evacuated from the plant need immediate support after the “trauma” they suffered, Dujarric added.
“The situation remains extremely, extremely dire for civilians. I think what we’re seeing from people who have left is not just that they obviously need medical help. They’re dehydrated, they don’t have food. But also, the psychological impact that these people have to deal with, the trauma they’ve lived through, is something they need immediate support for and will likely need support in the coming weeks,” Dujarric said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 344 people were evacuated from and around Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday.
Russia said it would open evacuation corridors from the Azovstal factory on Thursday – but the Ukrainian commander inside the complex said the Russians had broken their promise to allow civilians to leave as fierce fighting continued.
Source: CNN Brasil
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