Kyiv, Apr 25 (AP) Ukraine has said the United Nations should step in to oversee an evacuation route for civilians from the besieged steel mill in Mariupol which is Ukrainian troops' last stronghold in the port city.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on the Telegram messaging app that a Russian announcement of a “humanitarian corridor” out of the Azovstal plant to operate later on Monday was not agreed with Ukraine.

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Vereshchuk added that Ukraine does not consider the route safe for that reason and said Russia had breached agreements on similar evacuation routes before.

Ukrainian officials have said that up to 1,000 civilians have sheltered at the sprawling steel plant.

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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is scheduled to visit Russia and Ukraine this week.

Vereshchuk called on Guterres to be the “initiator and guarantor” of a humanitarian route out of Azovstal and for UN and International Committee of the Red Cross personnel to accompany any evacuees. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)