Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed “in principle” to United Nations and International Committee for the Red Cross involvement to allow civilians to leave a besieged steel plant in Ukraine’s southern city of Mariupol, the UN says.
During a meeting in Moscow, Putin and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres discussed the situation at the huge Azovstal steel plant, where the last Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol are hunkered down after months of Russian siege and bombardment.
“Follow-on discussions will be had with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Russian Defence Ministry,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement after the meeting.
Earlier on Tuesday, Putin told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that there were no military operations underway in Mariupol and that Ukraine should “take responsibility” for the people holed up in the Azovstal steel plant.
Ukraine on Monday appealed for the UN and the ICRC to be involved in the relocation of civilians from Azovstal.
Guterres is expected to meet with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Thursday.
During a news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Guterres said he has proposed a “Humanitarian Contact Group” of Russia, Ukraine and UN officials “to look for opportunities for the opening of safe corridors, with local cessations of hostilities, and to guarantee that they are actually effective”.
Russia describes its February 24 invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation” and denies targeting civilians.
It blames Ukraine for the repeated failure of humanitarian corridors.
On April 21, Russia declared victory in Mariupol although remaining Ukrainian forces held out in a vast underground complex below Azovstal.
Russia said on Monday it would open a humanitarian corridor for civilians to leave the steel plant but Ukraine said there was no such agreement and that Russia was still attacking it.
The United States and its allies on Tuesday pledged new packages of ever heavier weapons for Ukraine during a meeting at a German air base.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, welcoming officials from more than 40 countries to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, headquarters of US air power in Europe, said: “Nations from around the world stand united in our resolve to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s imperial aggression.”
“Ukraine clearly believes that it can win, and so does everyone here.”
Organisers said more than 40 countries were attending and a scan of the meeting room showed countries mainly from Europe but also beyond, including Israel, Kenya and Australia.
On a screen, representatives from South Korea and Japan attended virtually.
“This gathering reflects the galvanised world,” Austin said.
In a notable shift, Germany, which had come under pressure after refusing Ukrainian pleas for heavy weapons, announced it would now send Gepard light tanks with anti-aircraft guns.
The US welcomed the move.
A new source of concern is Transdniestria, a separatist region of Moldova just to the west of Ukraine, which has been occupied by Russian troops since the 1990s.
Two radio masts there were destroyed by explosions early on Tuesday, following other blasts in Transdniestria on Monday.
The separatist authorities said they were raising their terrorism threat level to red while the Kremlin said it was concerned.
Russia’s TASS news agency quoted the separatist leader as saying the attacks could be traced back to Ukraine.
Moldova’s President Maia Sandu blamed the “escalation attempts” on “pro-war” factions in Transdniestria.
