Ukraine hopes to evacuate civilians holed up with fighters in Mariupol steel works

This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows damage at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 27, 2022. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Ukraine hopes on Friday to evacuate civilians who are holed up in a vast steel works with the last fighters defending the southern city of Mariupol.

"An operation is planned today to get civilians out of the plant," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office said without giving details.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said after meeting Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday that intense discussions were underway to enable the evacuation of the Azovstal steel plant, which has been pounded by Russian forces occupying Mariupol.

A destroyed tank and a damaged apartment building from heavy fighting are seen in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov)

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed "in principle" to U.N. and International Committee for the Red Cross involvement in evacuating the Azovstal plant.

The Mariupol city council has said about 100,000 residents across the city are "in mortal danger" because of Russian shelling and unsanitary conditions, and described a "catastrophic" shortage of drinking water and food.