Smoke rises above Azovstal steelworks, in Mariupol, Ukraine, in this still image obtained from a recent drone video posted on social media. MARIUPOL CITY COUNCIL/via REUTERS
Local authorities in Mariupol, Ukraine, accused Russian forces of opening fire on a car carrying citizens from a massive steel plant on Friday, killing a fighter and violating a ceasefire deal.
Russia did not respond to the local council’s statement right away. Moscow has denied attacking civilians and offered a ceasefire to allow Ukrainian fighters to evacuate citizens trapped in the Azovstal steel complex.
“During the ceasefire on the territory of the Azovstal plant a car was hit by Russians using an anti-tank guided weapon. This car was moving towards civilians in order to evacuate them from the plant,” Mariupol city council said in an online post.
“As a result of the shelling, 1 fighter was killed and 6 were wounded. The enemy continues to violate all agreements and fails to adhere to security guarantees for the evacuation of civilians.”
Reuters could not verify the city council’s statement.
Russian forces have occupied Mariupol, leaving the city’s last defenders – and scores of civilians – holed up in the Azovstal plant.
The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have helped evacuate some of the civilians and
Ukraine said a new attempt was under way to evacuate the civilians.