Russia still ready to give safe passage to civilians in Mariupol, Putin tells Israeli PM Bennet
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Thursday that Russia was still ready to provide a safe passage for civilians from the besieged Azovstal steel works in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, according to a Kremlin statement. It said Putin in a telephonic conversation with Bennett also said that Kyiv should order Ukrainian troops holding out in the vast Azovstal plant to lay down their weapons. The commander of the Ukrainian forces has in social media posts stated that his troops are running out of ammunition and food but the top authorities in Kyiv have ordered him to stay put in his position. Some civilians have made it to safety through humanitarian corridors allowed by the Russian forces but there are more still inside. The Kremlin has denied that Russian forces were storming the plant, referring to an April 21 order from Putin that they should seal it off but not venture inside its huge network of underground tunnels. Russian President Vladim