Russian President Vladimir Putin is opposed to the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from their position at the Mariupol Azovstal steel plant, while giving them the possibility to lay down their weapons and surrender in order to be spared by the Russian forces, with all necessary medical help being provided, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Thursday.
However, the governor of the region Pavlo Kyrylenko noted that Moscow's forces are not letting the wounded Ukrainian soldiers leave the plant, nor permitting the establishment of civilian humanitarian corridors around the Donetsk region.
Earlier, the country's president Volodymyr Zelensky said at the briefing that Kiev is ready for urgent talks with Moscow on the evacuation of people from the Azovstal plant, adding that he expects United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's part in the mission to be "productive."
