Russia is helpless, says Zelenskyy as Mariupol evacuation breaks down

Ukrainian president says his people are working every day to evacuate those still trapped at Azovstal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on April 20. AP

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that the Russian military continued to try to storm the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol despite evacuation agreements.

Mr Zelenskyy said 156 people have reached Zaporizhzhia today, most of them women and children who spent more than two months in the bunkers under the steelworks.

“Finally, these people are completely safe. They will get help,” he said. “This is not a victory yet but it’s already a result. And I believe that there is a chance to save others of our people.”

Mr Zelenskyy vowed to continue attempts to evacuate everyone left behind at Azovstal, civilians and soldiers.

“Of course, we will continue to do everything to get all our people out of Mariupol and Azovstal," he said.

"It’s difficult. But we need everyone who is still there, both civilians and soldiers. There wasn’t any day when we did not deal with this issue, when our people were not trying to solve it."

Ukrainian commanders said on Tuesday that Russian troops backed by tanks began storming the sprawling plant, which includes a maze of tunnels and bunkers spread out over 11 square kilometres.

The number of Ukrainian fighters inside was unclear, but the Russians put the number at about 2,000 in recent weeks, and 500 were reported to be wounded.

A few hundred civilians also remained there, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

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

In his nightly address, Mr Zelenskyy said Russian strikes on several cities were a response to Ukrainian “successes”.

“They are trying to vent their helplessness because Ukraine is beyond their power,” he said.

“The more there are such strikes, the farther Russia is from civilisation, from what is called being civil.”