Putin Urges Fighting Civilians in Ukraine's Azovstal to Disarm

Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Ukrainian civilians from the besieged Azovstal plant to put down their weapons.

Putin held a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Thursday and affirmed that Russia was still prepared to provide safe passage for civilians from the Azovstal plant, adding that Kyiv should order Ukrainian fighters defending it to put down their weapons.

Although the Russian leader asserted that Moscow will allow Ukrainian civilians to leave safely, many women and children are still trapped in underground bunkers at a steelworks in the ruined city of Mariupol.

However, a Ukrainian fighter accused Russian forces of breaching the plant's defences for a third day in violation of an earlier pledge by Moscow to pause military activity to permit civilian evacuations.

"Heavy, bloody fighting is going on," said Captain Sviatoslav Palamar, a deputy commander of Ukraine's Azov Regiment, in a video posted online.

"Yet again, the Russians have not kept the promise of a ceasefire and have not given an opportunity for the civilians who seek shelter ... in basements of the plant to evacuate," he added. Reuters could not independently verify his account or from where he was speaking.