“I proposed the creation of a contact group that brings together Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations to look for the possibilities of opening humanitarian corridors,” Guterres said at the press conference.
“It is urgent” to create these “really safe and effective” civilian evacuation corridors, he added.
Guterres specifically mentioned the situation of civilians still trapped in the Azovstal metallurgical complex in Mariupol (southeast), besieged by the Russian army. He proposed a working group coordinated with the Red Cross to be able to evacuate the civilians.
The United Nations is “ready to fully mobilize its human and logistical resources to help save lives in Mariupol,” he said. “Thousands of civilians are in urgent need of life-saving humanitarian assistance, and many have been evacuated.”
Putin rejected that, as Guterres said, the humanitarian corridors opened by Russia do not work.
“They have misinformed him. They work. More than 100,000 have left Mariupol with our help. Some 130,000 or 140,000 have left. And they can go wherever they want,” he said.
As for reports of possible war crimes in Ukraine, Guterres expressed concern, saying an independent investigation is needed.
With information from AFP, EFE and Reuters