a squeeze on some festivities. hello and welcome to the programme. efforts to evacuate the devastated port of mariupol and its massive azovstal steel plant have been delayed. ukrainian officials said russian forces were blocking humanitarian corridors near the plant where people have been sheltering, and shelling had resumed after a ceasefire over the weekend. hundreds are still trapped in the steelworks. elsewhere in the city, civilians have spent hours waiting for evacuation buses that were originally due early in the morning. meanwhile, the un refugee agency says more than 5.5 million people have now fled ukraine. let s go live now to ben brown in kyiv for the very latest from ukraine. hello. welcome to the ukrainian capital. the latest attempts to evacuate civilians from the devastated ukrainian port city of mariupol and its massive azovstal industrial site have run into difficulties. the defence ministry in kyiv said, russian forces were blocking humanitarian corridors
Bag as a loo. ukrainians, our defenders, today we finally managed to start the evacuation. after many weeks of negotiations, after many attempts, different people, meetings, calls, countries, finally there was not a day when we did not try and save our people. after leaving the plant civilians were loaded onto buses and taken to a village in the direction of russia. but accompanied by un and red cross staff, it seems they have now been allowed to go back towards ukraine. they will be coming here, reception centre in the of zaporizhzhia. initially just one private car arrived, greeted by the world s media. everyone caught in the siege of mariupol has suffered terribly. translation: the scariest part is when they are shelling.
Genocide they are just destroying ukraine as a nation. genocide they are just destroying ukraine as a nation. thank you for brinuain ukraine as a nation. thank you for bringing us ukraine as a nation. thank you for bringing us un ukraine as a nation. thank you for bringing us up to ukraine as a nation. thank you for bringing us up to date ukraine as a nation. thank you for bringing us up to date with - ukraine as a nation. thank you for bringing us up to date with all- ukraine as a nation. thank you for bringing us up to date with all of. bringing us up to date with all of those details. a pretty grim picture of there. hundreds of people still trapped in azovstal and as the deputy mayor of mariupol sergei 0rlov was just telling us, may be 130,000 people still in the city who want to get out. thank you, deputy mayor, for talking to us on bbc news. that s the latest from kyiv. back to you in the studio in london. ben brown, thank you very much, ben brown in kyiv. we will be back
Lant? ~ ., still trapped in the azovstal steel lant? ~ ., ., still trapped in the azovstal steel lant? ~ ., ., , . plant? i know that hundreds. we should understand plant? i know that hundreds. we should understand that - plant? i know that hundreds. we should understand that it - plant? i know that hundreds. we should understand that it is - plant? i know that hundreds. we should understand that it is not i should understand that it is not simple and continuous air strike, shelling and artillery, missiles from warships. it is not even simple to announce this evacuation throughout the places where our civil citizens are found in their safe spaces in bomb shelters. i know that hundreds, maybe from 500 700, and among them at least several dozen children. and among them at least several dozen children. there was a two day ceasefire in dozen children. there was a two day ceasefire in which dozen children. there was a two day ceasefire in which you dozen children. there was a two
Dream, we all pray to continue this evacuation procedure. as we talk there are hundreds of civilians looking for a safe place in the bomb shelter in azovstal, and among them a lot of children and they are always waiting to continue the evacuation. i think we need to finish this procedure and to start the next negotiation, even before, and it should be absolutely the next evacuation to save our civil citizens. evacuation to save our civil citizene evacuation to save our civil citizens. , ., ., citizens. but why has the evacuation sto ed for citizens. but why has the evacuation stepped for now? citizens. but why has the evacuation stopped for now? we citizens. but why has the evacuation stopped for now? we had citizens. but why has the evacuation stopped for now? we had those - citizens. but why has the evacuation stopped for now? we had those 100 people who came out, but then since then there has been no more. is that because the russians have stopped the evacuation procedure b