arrived in zaporzhiazhia after a safe passage operation from mariupol and surrounding areas. that followed the safe aprifl from several evacuees yesterday, buses had the first group of evacuees who had been holed up in the steel plant of mariupol, with little food and water as russian forces continue to batter the city. the russian forces forces, and the effort to take to safety, when some residents stepped aboard ground on friday to meet a u.n.-backed evacuation convoy, that first daylight in weeks felt like it was burning people s eyes as the scene they witnessed sent some into shock. for the most part only women and children were able to join the evacuate effort as the russians did not allow young men of fighting age to leave. at least three mothers interviewed by post reporters said that they had ultimately had to make a choice, stay with their husbands, or save their children. the post adds, the drive normally takes less than four hours. but because of active shelling,
technical diffies and that s why i m introducing the show from ukraine. we want to bring you up to date what is going on overnight and the last couple of days. here in zaporzhiazhia, receiving evacuees from the besieged city of mariupol to the southeast and last night, the associated press announced some 600 people may have been killed in that theater attack a couple of weeks ago, by russian forces in mariupol. now, that s far exceeding the number that had previously been reporting. and really points to what has been a lot of talk here about war crimes, committed by the russian forces, both in mariupol and further to the west in the capital of kyiv. now, this city has seen bombardment for most of the past several weeks. all of that is focused and all of the eyes of the world are focused on the azovstal steel plant, where civilians and soldiers have taken refuge underneath. and we have referred in this city, just in the last couple of
can tell you what is happening where i am, in zaporzhiazhia, we re a 30-minute drive from what is called the line of control, that s the spot where kyiv-controlled ukraine becomes russian controlled ukraine and needless to say a very dangerous position geographically and contested and in a state of war and we are continuing to see people and you can see them right over here, who are arrive forecast those regions who are arriving from those regions. not far from where i m standing right now. you a day yesterday, would he did not see, as you noted, those people from mariupol, from underneath that azov steel plant but instead we saw lines an lines of cars arriving from areas around it, from within the area of mariupol, from the other southern areas occupied by the russians for several weeks and what happens, they come here and you can see all of the police officers here, they get registered, the cars get
ways the alamo for ukraine encircle bid russian forces. what more do we know about this plan. is there any sense that the russians are going to go for it? jonathan, good morning. and at this hour, there is a glimmer, a glimmer of hope, for women and children, inside that steel plant, albeit a faint one. president zelenskyy s office is saying they are planning an operation today, to get civilians out of that field plant, according to reuters and not independently confirmed by nbc news, but that would be a big moment, if we were to see women and children coming out of that steel plant, after weeks and weeks of russian siege, and now the united nations has not confirmed anything but we know they did move a team down to zaporzhiazhia yesterday to be in place in case there was a window for an evacuation to go ahead. a couple of dashes of cold water on this. there is no official confirmation from the russians
nuclear power that russia is currently occupying at zaporzhiazhia. that is an active plant that needs more radio active cooling and it is much more lily radio active and not surrounded by a , by an exclusion zone. so russia s behavior is reckless. and you know, russia has now left chernobyl and it is in a much worse state than it found it but as you pointed out, that zaporzhiazhia is still under occupation. it is a gigantic plant, it is currently operating. and as you say, one of the imperatives there for a currently operates plant is active cooling and indeed for a plant that generates a lots of