ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine -- Dozens more civilians were rescued Friday from the tunnels under the besieged steel mill where Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol have been making their last stand to prevent Russia's complete takeover of the strategically important port city.
Russian and Ukrainian officials said 50 people were evacuated from the Azovstal plant and handed over to representatives of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Russian military said the group included 11 children.
Russian officials and Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said evacuation efforts would continue today. The latest evacuees were in addition to roughly 500 civilians who got out of the plant and city in recent days.
The fight for the last Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol by Russian forces appeared increasingly desperate amid growing speculation that President Vladimir Putin wants to finish the battle for the city so he can present a triumph Monday to the Russian people in time for Victory Day -- the biggest patriotic holiday on the Russian calendar.
As the holiday commemorating the Soviet Union's World War II victory over Nazi Germany approached, cities across Ukraine prepared for an increase in Russian attacks, and officials urged residents to heed air raid warnings.
"These symbolic dates are to the Russian aggressor like red to a bull," said Ukraine's first deputy interior minister, Yevhen Yenin. "While the entire civilized world remembers the victims of terrible wars on these days, the Russian Federation wants parades and is preparing to dance over bones in Mariupol."
By Russia's most recent estimate, roughly 2,000 Ukrainian fighters are holed up in the vast maze of tunnels and bunkers beneath the Azovstal steelworks, and they have repeatedly refused to surrender. Ukrainian officials said before Friday's evacuations that a few hundred civilians were also trapped there, and fears for their safety have increased as the battle has grown fiercer in recent days.
Kateryna Prokopenko, whose husband, Denys Prokopenko, commands the Azov Regiment troops inside the plant, issued a desperate plea to also spare the fighters. She said they would be willing to go to a third country to wait out the war but would never surrender to Russia because that would mean "filtration camps, prison, torture and death."
If nothing is done to save her husband and his men, they will "stand to the end without surrender," she told The Associated Press on Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said "influential states" are involved in efforts to rescue the soldiers, although he did not mention any by name.
"We are also working on diplomatic options to save our troops who are still at Azovstal," he said in his nightly video address.
U.N. officials have been tight-lipped about the civilian evacuation efforts, but it seemed likely that the latest evacuees would be taken to Zaporizhzhia, a Ukrainian-controlled city about 140 miles northwest of Mariupol where others who escaped the port city were brought.
Some of the plant's previous evacuees spoke to the AP about the horrors of being surrounded by death in the moldy, underground bunker with little food and water, poor medical care and diminishing hope. Some said they felt guilty for leaving others behind.
Fighters defending the plant said Friday on the Telegram messaging app that Russian troops had fired on an evacuation vehicle on the plant's grounds. They said the car was moving toward civilians when it was hit by shelling, and that one soldier was killed and six were wounded.
Moscow did not immediately acknowledge renewed fighting there Friday.
ON THE FRONT LINES
Russia took control of the rest of Mariupol after bombarding it for two months. Ahead of Victory Day, municipal workers and volunteers cleaned up what remains of the city, which had a prewar population of more than 400,000. Perhaps 100,000 civilians remain there with scarce supplies of food, water electricity and heat.
The fall of Mariupol would deprive Ukraine of a vital port.
It would also allow Russia to establish a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, and free some Russian troops to fight elsewhere in the Donbas, the eastern industrial region that the Kremlin says is now its chief objective.
While they pounded away at the plant, Russian forces struggled to make significant gains elsewhere, 10 weeks into a devastating war that has killed thousands of people, forced millions to flee the country and flattened large swaths of cities.
Ukrainian officials said the risk of shelling increased ahead of Victory Day. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said authorities would reinforce street patrols in the capital. A curfew was going into effect in Ukraine's southern Odesa region, which was the target of two missile attacks Friday.
The Ukrainian military's general staff said Friday that its forces repelled 11 attacks in the Donbas region and destroyed tanks and armored vehicles, further frustrating Putin's ambitions after his abortive attempt to seize Kyiv. Russia made no acknowledgement of the losses.
The Ukrainian army also said it made progress in the northeastern Kharkiv region, recapturing five villages and part of a sixth. Meanwhile, one person was reported dead and three more were wounded Friday as a result of Russian shelling in Lyman, a city in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.
In other developments Friday, a Ukrainian army brigade said it used an American Switchblade "suicide" drone against Russian forces in what was likely Ukraine's first recorded use of such a weapon in combat.
The Ukrainian governor of the eastern Luhansk region said residents of the city of Kreminna were being terrorized by Russian troops trying to cross the Seversky Donets River. Serhiy Haidai accused Russian troops of checking phones and "forcibly disappearing Ukrainian patriots." His statements could not be immediately verified.
Haidia also said more than 15,000 people remain in Severodonetsk, a city in the Luhansk region that's seen as a key Russian target. He said he believes most residents wish to remain even though "entire blocks of houses are on fire."
The small village of Nekhoteevk, in Russia's southern Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, was being evacuated due to shelling from Ukrainian territory, according to the regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov. His claims could not be immediately verified.
MORE U.S. ASSISTANCE
President Joe Biden on Friday authorized the shipment of another $150 million in military assistance for Ukraine for artillery rounds and radar systems in its fight against Russia's invading forces.
Biden said the latest spending means his administration has "nearly exhausted" what Congress authorized for Ukraine in March and called on lawmakers to swiftly approve a more than $33 billion spending package that will last through the end of September.
"We are sending the weapons and equipment that Congress has authorized directly to the front lines of freedom in Ukraine," Biden said in a statement. "U.S. support, together with the contributions of our Allies and partners, has been critical in helping Ukraine win the battle of Kyiv and hinder Putin's war aims in Ukraine."
A U.S. official said the latest tranche of assistance includes 25,000 155mm artillery rounds, counter-artillery radars, jamming equipment, field equipment and spare parts.
Meanwhile, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday that Russia has no intention of deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
"Russia firmly abides by the principle that there can be no victors in a nuclear war and it must not be unleashed," Alexey Zaitsev said. He added that Russian nuclear doctrine does not envisage any scenarios for potential strikes that would apply to Moscow's military goals in Ukraine.
Nevertheless, Zaitsev added that "any provocations whatsoever can be expected" from Ukraine and the West, and that Russia has to "be ready for any development in the media space and directly on the ground."
His statement echoed remarks made by Russia's ambassador in Washington on Thursday.
In an interview with Newsweek, Anatoly Antonov slammed what he called "a flurry of blatant misrepresentation of Russian officials' statements on our country's nuclear policy."
He accused top U.S. military leaders -- including the defense secretary and Joint Chiefs of Staff -- of falsely blaming Moscow for escalating nuclear tensions, calling their claims "baseless" and "part of a propaganda campaign against Russia in response to the steps taken to neutralize threats to our national security emanating from the Ukrainian territory."
He also blamed the wider Western bloc for what he called its "irresponsible" handling of the situation in Ukraine, implying that NATO's rhetoric and continuing support for Kyiv contributed to heightening nuclear tensions.
"The current generation of NATO politicians clearly does not take the nuclear threat seriously," Antonov told Newsweek.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and Russia's parliament speaker, Vyacheslav Volodin, both asserted this week that Moscow would not use nuclear weapons first.
U.N. STATEMENT
The U.N. Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted its first statement on Ukraine since Russia's military action began on Feb. 24, expressing "strong support" for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' efforts to find a peaceful solution to the 10-week "dispute."
The short presidential statement approved at a very brief council meeting Friday does not mention a "war," "conflict" or "invasion" as many council members call Russia's ongoing military action, or a "special military operation" as Moscow refers to it. That's because Russia, which hold veto power in the council, has blocked all previous attempts to adopt a presidential statement that requires unanimity or a resolution.
Instead, the statement "expresses deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine" and "recalls that all member states have undertaken, under the Charter of the United Nations, the obligation to settle their international disputes by peaceful means."
"The Security Council expresses strong support for the efforts of the secretary-general in the search for a peaceful solution," the statement says, and requests Guterres to brief members "in due course."
During recent visits to Moscow and Kyiv, Guterres reached an agreement with Putin and Zelenskyy for the evacuation of civilians, first and foremost from Mariupol and the Azovstal steel plant.
The U.N. and the International Committee of the Red Cross have carried out two successful evacuations from Mariupol and surrounding areas so far, and are currently in Mariupol organizing a third evacuation from the steel plant.
Reacting to the council statement, Guterres said: "Today, for the first time, the Security Council spoke with one voice for peace in Ukraine."
"As I have often said, the world must come together to silence the guns and uphold the values of the U.N. Charter," the secretary-general said in a statement.
Norway's U.N. Ambassador Mona Juul and Mexico's U.N. Ambassador Juan Ramon De La Fuente Ramirez, whose countries drafted the council statement, called it an important first step for diplomatic efforts to end the war.
"Millions of Ukrainians desperately need humanitarian protection and assistance," Juul said. "It is important that the U.N. secretary-general has the full backing of the Security Council for his effort towards a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine."
De La Fuente Ramirez said the unanimous adoption of the statement "shows that the Security Council is united in supporting the United Nations and its secretary-general in finding a diplomatic solution."
The council is mandated under the U.N. Charter to maintain international peace and security and has been strongly criticized since the Russian invasion for its paralysis and inaction.
Asked about criticism that the minimal statement took over two months to approve and only backs Guterres, De La Fuente Ramirez said there has to be a start somewhere. He said approval of the statement "at least shows a willingness" to continue the secretary-general's efforts.
In next steps, Guterres is scheduled to make a two-day visit to Ukraine's neighbor, Moldova, starting Monday to "express his solidarity and thank Moldova for its steadfast support for peace, and for its people's generosity in opening up their hearts and their homes to almost half a million Ukrainian refugees," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Guterres has called for the creation of a humanitarian committee comprising Russia, Ukraine, the U.N. and the International Committee of the Red Cross to coordinate aid deliveries and evacuations. Dujarric said U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths will be going Monday to Turkey to discuss with its authorities how they can support such an initiative.
Information for this article was contributed by Elena Becatoros, Jon Gambrell, Trisha Thomas, Yesica Fisch, Inna Varenytsia, David Keyton, Yuras Karmanau, Mstyslav Chernov, Lolita C. Baldor, Edith M. Lederer and staff members of The Associated Press.
People walk along an urban beach along the river Dnipro as the sun sets in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, May 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Didenko Ekaterina, 93, from the Ukrainian city of Vuhledar, waits for her daughter as people stay in line for registration at the aid distribution center for displaced people in Zaporizhia, Ukraine, Thursday, May 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Patrick Michael Jones, 34, a volunteer from Houston, U.S. helps Ukrainian women Vera, 59, centre, and Lilia, 55, to carry humanitarian aid in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Friday, May 6, 2022. Jones came to Ukraine to help people in their difficult situation. He worked as a salesman at a gun store in Houston. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)
A man cooks next to his house in Mariupol, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine, Wednesday, May 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov)
A woman receives humanitarian aid at the distribution center for displaced people in Zaporizhia, Ukraine, Thursday, May 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Teenagers on bicycles pass a bridge destroyed by shelling near Orihiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Smoke rises from the Metallurgical Combine Azovstal in Mariupol, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People's Republic, eastern in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, May 5, 2022. Heavy fighting is raging at the besieged steel plant in Mariupol as Russian forces attempt to finish off the city's last-ditch defenders and complete the capture of the strategically vital port. (AP Photo)
CAPTION CORRECTS THE LOCATION - A man and a girl who left a shelter in the Metallurgical Combine Azovstal walk to a bus escorting by a serviceman of Russian Army in Mariupol, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine, Friday, May 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov)
CAPTION CORRECTS THE LOCATION - A man, who left a shelter in the Metallurgical Combine Azovstal walks to a bus between servicemen of Russian Army and Donetsk People’s Republic militia in Mariupol, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People’s Republic, eastern Ukraine, Friday, May 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov)
The coffins of Ukrainian soldiers Yurii Samofalov, 50; Yurii Varianytsia, 53; and Oleksandr Malevskyi, 30, are carried through a church Friday in Lviv, Ukraine. (The New York Times/Finbarr O’Reilly)
Ukrainian troops ride on an armored personnel carrier Friday in Kramatorsk in the Donbas region of Ukraine. Fighting has intensified in the Donbas ahead of Russia’s Monday celebration of Victory Day, which marks the Soviet Union’s triumph over the Nazis in World War II. (The New York Times/Lynsey Addario)Gallery: Images from Ukraine, month 3
