Ukraine Ready For Urgent Negotiations On Evacuation From Mariupol And Counts On UN Support - Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine is ready for urgent negotiations to evacuate people from Mariupol and counts on the support of the United Nations (UN).

This is stated in a message on the President's website, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

Zelenskyy and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres during talks in Kyiv discussed the evacuation of Ukrainian citizens from Mariupol surrounded by Russian troops in Donetsk region, in particular from the Azovstal plant.

The head of the Ukrainian state noted that Guterres discussed this issue during a recent visit to Russia.

"We see that despite the words of the Russian President about the alleged cessation of hostilities in Mariupol, the territory of the Azovstal plant is subjected to barbaric bombing of the Russian army. And this continued even during the negotiations of Mr. Secretary General in Moscow," Zelenskyy said during a meeting with media representatives on the results of negotiations with Guterres.

He stressed that Ukraine is ready for urgent negotiations to evacuate people from Mariupol and expects that the participation of the UN Secretary General in this mission will be effective.

The head of state also called on Guterres to make efforts to stop the deportation of Ukrainian citizens to Russia, gain access to the deportees and return them to their homeland as soon as possible.

Guterres assured that he was doing everything possible to save people in Mariupol.

The UN Secretary General said that during his recent visit to Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin generally agreed to involve the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross in the evacuation of civilians from Azovstal.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk believes that there is hope for the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol after Zelenskyy met with Guterres.

Putin agreed to the participation of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross in the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol.