The head of Russia’s National Center for Defense Control, Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, stated that the humanitarian corridor will be open for 24 hours for the evacuation of civilians, work personnel, women and children who are hiding in the underground of the steel plant.

He said that, guided by purely humane principles, the Russian Armed Forces and the formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic will halt all combat actions and withdraw to a safe distance to ensure that the citizens depart in the direction that choose.

Mizintsev stressed that there will be no obstacles to the departure of civilians from Azovstal by the Russian military and allies. He also warned that everything will depend on the decision of the Kiev authorities themselves and the commanders of the nationalist formations to continue to retain civilians as human shields or not.

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