The head of the Control Center, Colonel General Mijaíl Mizíntsev, stressed that if the signs announcing the surrender are detected anywhere in the plant, the Russian Armed Forces and the formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic will immediately halt any activity being conducted.

Should that happen, the safe passage of people to the gathering points of the humanitarian convoys will be guaranteed, Mizíntsev said.

However, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Reintegration of Uncontrolled Territories Irina Vereschuk texted on Friday that the troops surrounded by Russian forces at the Azovstal plant do not intend to surrender, therefore they do not need a humanitarian corridor.

“There are corridors for surrender. The Russians have opened one, but we do not need it. Our military does not want to surrender to them,” Vereschuk wrote on her Telegram network channel.

So far, the Russian and allied forces have evacuated almost 143,631 civilians and 1,844 soldiers of the Ukrainian Army who surrendered in Mariupol, Mizintsev said.

“All of them were spared their lives, their safety was guaranteed and they were provided with qualified medical aid. All this was done without the participation of the Kiev authorities,” said the Colonel General, who is also in command of the Headquarters for Interministerial Coordination for Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine.

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