Russia resumes bombardment of Azovstal steel works

Red Cross says more than 100 civilians were successfully evacuated from the besieged port city of Mariupol

A woman rescues some of her belongings from her house in Irpin, near Kyiv, which was nearly completely destroyed by Russian bombing in late March. AP

A driver helps a woman board a bus at a reception centre for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. AP

People fleeing Mariupol's Azovstal plant arrive on buses at a registration and processing area for internally displaced people in Zaporizhzhia. AFP

A woman stands next to her home in Irpin, near Kyiv, after it was nearly completely destroyed by Russian bombing. AP

People hold banners and shout slogans during a demonstration in support of Mariupol defenders in Kyiv, Ukraine. Getty Images

A woman stands near her house that was destroyed by shelling in Sloboda, Chernihiv region, Ukraine. Reuters

A mother and child in Lviv, Ukraine, wait to board transport destined for Przemysl, Poland. Getty Images

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy claps as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson addresses the Ukrainian Parliament in Kyiv via videolink. Reuters

Firefighters work to extinguish flames after a Russian bombardment at a park in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP Photo

The television tower is illuminated in the national colors of the Ukrainian flag to show solidarity with the country at the Olympic Park in Munich, southern Germany. AFP

Flooded gardens and fields are shown in Demydiv, Ukraine. To keep Russian armoured columns at bay, Ukrainian forces released water from a nearby hydroelectric dam to intentionally flood Demydiv, a village north of Kyiv. The decision was effective, but efforts to drain the area are complicated. Getty Images

A damaged Orthodox icon is seen in the corner of local resident Yurii's heavily damaged house in Fenevychi, Ukraine. Getty Images

Valentyna, 71, stands by her cat, who was injured in the fighting, in Fenevychi. Getty Images

Yurii, 53, stands in his heavily damaged house in Fenevychi. Getty Images

Evacuees from the eastern Ukraine city of Lyman, which has suffered heavy shelling, ride on a bus in Raihorodok. AFP

A man delivers loaves of bread to a woman in the eastern Ukraine city of Lyman. AFP

Nazar, right, boards a bulletproof bus to evacuate with his family from the eastern Ukraine city of Lyman. AFP

A dog chases a hare by the wall of a burnt house in Fenevychi. Getty Images

Nine-year-old Galina, right, and Nazar, 8, arrive with their families in Raihorodok. AFP

Natalia Pototska, 43, cries as her grandson Matviy looks on in Zaporizhzhia. AP

Hryhorii, a member of the Ukrainian military meets his wife Oksana, who fled from the Russian-occupied Novomykhailivka village, at the evacuation point in Zaporizhzhia. EPA

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomes Denmark's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeppe Kofod to Kyiv. Reuters

Buildings destroyed by Russian shelling in Borodianka, in Ukraine's Kyiv region. Reuters

Volunteers carry an elderly woman in a blanket during the evacuation of a frontline village retaken by Ukrainian forces in Kharkiv. Reuters

A Ukrainian man walks past the turret of a Russian tank next to a destroyed petrol station in the village of Skybyn, north-east of Kyiv. AFP

Andrii Fedorov hugs his son Makar as they are reunited in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, after the boy and his mother fled besieged Mariupol. AP

Volunteers at the Help Ukraine Center in Lublin, south-eastern Poland. More than 3 million Ukrainian refugees are now in Poland. EPA

Police officers deliver loaves of bread to residents in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lyman, which is being heavily shelled. AFP

Savelii, 10, mourns at the grave of his father, who died protecting his city as a member of the Territorial Defence, in Irpin, Ukraine. EPA

Ukrainian soliders ride on a truck to a resting place after fighting in the front line for two months near Kramatorsk. AFP

A shopkeeper clears shelves before closing up in Sviatohirsk, eastern Ukraine, amid the Russian invasion. AFP

Civilians who left the area near Azovstal steel plant as part of an evacuation of Mariupol arrive at temporary accommodation in Bezimenne, Donetsk region. Reuters

Azovstal steel plant employee Valeria, who was part of an evacuation of Mariupol, hugs her son Matvey, who had earlier left the city with his relatives, as they meet again in Bezimenne, Donetsk. Reuters

A pro-Russian troop stands guard in Bezimenne, Donetsk. Reuters

A picture taken during a visit to Mariupol organised by the Russian military shows Russian serviceman on patrol outside the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in Enerhodar, south-eastern Ukraine. EPA

A woman is assisted during the UN-led evacuation of the Azovstal steel plant, after nearly two months of siege warfare on Mariupol by Russia. Reuters

Civilians gather for humanitarian aid, distributed by the Donetsk People Republic Emergency Situations Ministry in Berdyansk, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine. AP

Ukrainian servicemen are seen near a T-80 tank captured from Russian troops in Kharkiv region. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier takes a break from the conflict and tries to pet a stork in Barvinkove, Kharkiv region. Reuters

A satellite image shows damage at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, Ukraine. AP

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The Red Cross vowed on Tuesday not to “spare any effort” to reach the citizens of Mariupol who remain in the bombed out city after 101 were evacuated.

Russia renewed its assault on the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol shortly after a UN-brokered ceasefire ended.

About 200 civilians — mostly women and children — remain trapped in tunnels underneath the strategic port site, where fighters from Ukraine's Azov regiment have put up bitter resistance against the Russian encirclement for more than two months.

While it said it was an “immense relief” that 101 civilians were out of the plant, “the Red Cross has not forgotten the people who are still there”, it said in a statement.

It was the first completed civilian evacuation from the giant Azovstal steel factory, where Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been trapped for weeks as Russian forces have besieged and pummelled the city.

A convoy of buses and ambulances containing the evacuees reached safety on Tuesday in the eastern city Zaporizhzhia, situated about 200 kilometres from Mariupol on the Dnipro river.

The Red Cross said those trapped under the city have “lived through unimaginable horror".

“It is an immense relief that some civilians who have suffered for weeks are now out,” said ICRC President Peter Maurer. He said those left behind in Mariupol were in dire need of humanitarian relief and that his organisation would “not spare any effort” to reach them.

Russia pounded the steel works with an aerial and artillery bombardment throughout Monday night following the breakdown of the ceasefire, according to Ukrainian forces.

“A powerful assault on the territory of the Azovstal plant is under way with support from armoured vehicles and tanks,” Capt Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of Ukraine's Azov military unit, said in a statement on social media. Russian forces are also attempting “to land a large number of infantry by boat,” he said.

“We will do everything we can to repel this assault, but we call for immediate measures to evacuate civilians who are on the territory of the plant,” he said.

The Russian defence ministry accused members of the Azov battalion and other Ukrainian troops of using the lull in fighting to once again take up their combat positions at the plant.

French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Tuesday that a ceasefire was needed in Ukraine and that he was deeply concerned about the situation in Donbas and Mariupol.

“I have called on Russia to live up to its international responsibility as a UN Security Council member by putting an end to this devastating attack,” Mr Macron is quoted as saying in a statement.

During the call, Mr Putin accused Kyiv of not taking talks to end the conflict seriously.

Mr Putin accused of the EU of ignoring “war crimes” committed by Ukrainian forces during the conflict and claimed the government in Kyiv was not ready for “serious work” to end the conflict.

“The Russian side is still open to dialogue,” the Russian leader told Mr Macron, according to the Kremlin.