The Kremlin denied that Russian troops had entered the Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine's southern port city of Mariupol and said humanitarian corridors were operating there on Thursday (May 5).
Asked about the veracity of a claim by a senior Ukrainian official that Russian troops had entered the territory surrounding the steelworks, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov referred reporters to President Vladimir Putin's previous order not to storm it.
Putin was shown on television on April 21 telling his defence minister instead to seal off the vast complex so "not even a fly could pass through".
On Thursday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for a prolonged ceasefire to evacuate civilians from bunkers under the Azovstal steel plant.
Russia's military said it would pause military activity at the steelworks during Thursday daytime and the following two days to allow civilians to leave.