Statement by the Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Osnat Lubrani, on the evacuations from Azovstal and Mariupol

"Another round of evacuations of civilians from Azovstal steelworks and other areas around Mariupol has been successfully concluded today. I am immensely relieved to confirm that more than 170 people who have endured over 10 weeks of intense shelling and fighting are now able to have some respite in Zaporizhzhia, where humanitarian organizations will provide immediate assistance to them. 

This new safe passage operation - which brings the total number of people evacuated to over 600 - has been possible thanks to the determination and great work of our teams from the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, with whom I have worked hand to hand during the last 10 days. The close coordination and agreement with the parties to the conflict has also been vital to ensure we could carry out this complex operation safely. 

Our work, however, is not yet done. The UN will not forget that scores of people have been prevented from joining the evacuation convoys over the last days. We will continue our engagements with both parties to the conflict to make sure we can reach people in desperate need of humanitarian assistance in Mariupol and other hard-to-reach areas across Ukraine, and ensure that those who want to leave have the guarantees to do so safely and in the direction of their choice." 

Zaporizhzhia, 8 May 2022.