UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, on Thursday, that the UN is currently conducting a third civilian evacuation operation in Ukraine, the details of which will be released once the effort is completed.

"A third operation is underway - but it is our policy not to speak about the details of any of them before they are completed to avoid undermining possible success," Guterres said during a briefing to the Security Council.

Guterres added that the UN has completed two evacuation operations in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross, the first on May 3 evacuating 101 civilians from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, and the second on May 4 evacuating more than 320 civilians from Mariupol and surrounding areas.

Guterres hopes UN coordination with Russia, Ukraine will lead to more aid efforts

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday said that he hopes continued coordination with the governments of Russia and Ukraine will help facilitate more evacuation and humanitarian aid efforts for those in need, following recent meetings with presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"I hope that the continued coordination with Moscow and Kyiv will lead to more humanitarian pauses to allow civilians safe passage from the fighting and aid to reach those in critical need," Guterres said.

Earlier, the Kremlin announced that humanitarian corridors to get civilians out of Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant were functioning after the Russian army announced a three-day ceasefire at the site.

The humanitarian corridor will be available for three days, from Thursday to Saturday, from 8 AM to 6 PM Moscow time. Civilians evacuated from the facility will be able to move wherever they choose, including territory controlled by Ukraine or Russia.

The Kremlin denied on Wednesday that Russia was attacking the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol after Ukraine accused Moscow of launching a "powerful" assault on the industrial zone where Kiev's military is stationed.