Ukraine’s president says people buried under Mariupol’s steelworks will have to be dug out by hand as another rescue convoy was on its way to save the remaining civilians.

Russia has pledged a three-day ceasefire to enable the evacuation of civilians who have been hiding for weeks in the Azovstal plant’s underground bunkers.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on the Ukrainian soldiers also holed out in the industrial facility to surrender.

Ukraine’s last standing defenders have claimed the Russian military has breached the perimeter and is engaging in “bloody battles” inside the complex.

“Heavy, bloody fighting is going on,” said Captain Sviatoslav Palamar, a deputy commander of the Azov Regiment in a video posted online.

“Yet again, the Russians have not kept the promise of a ceasefire and have not given an opportunity for the civilians who seek shelter… in basements of the plant to evacuate.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky said it would take some work to extricate the civilians after weeks of military bombardment had littered the area with concrete debris, trapping them underground.

“It will take time simply to lift people out of those basements, out of those underground shelters,” he said.

“In the present conditions, we cannot use heavy equipment to clear the rubble away. It all has to be done by hand.”

Ukrainian officials believe about 200 civilians remain along with fighters in the network of underground bunkers at the sprawling Soviet-era complex.

Meanwhile Mr Putin told Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in a phone call that Russia was still prepared to provide safe passage for civilians from the Azovstal plant.

The Israeli prime minister said Mr Putin also apologised for his foreign minister’s remark that Adolf Hitler had “Jewish blood” which had incensed his people.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday 344 people have been evacuated in and around the besieged city of Mariupol.

He said they are trying to reach an agreement to save those remaining in Azovstal, including women and children https://t.co/LtCIc1gQJP pic.twitter.com/NI0H60ioJB

— Bloomberg Originals (@bbgoriginals) May 5, 2022

Mariupol, a port city in southeast Ukraine on the Sea of Azov, is now under Russian control apart from the steelworks, after a weeks-long siege.

It has been an important target in efforts to cut Ukraine off from its coastal grain and metals export routes as well as to link Russian-controlled territory in the east of the country to Crimea, seized by Russia in 2014.

Ukraine’s resistance at the plant underscores Russia’s failure to capture major cities in a war.

The United Nations and Red Cross evacuated hundreds of people from the city and other areas this week.

Nobody from Azovstal was among more than 300 civilians evacuated on Wednesday from Mariupol and other areas in southern Ukraine, the UN humanitarian office said.

Zelensky launches crowd-funding

Ukraine’s president has created a crowdfunding platform to raise money separately for the army, humanitarian purposes or reconstruction.

Mr Zelensky urged the public to help “protect our defenders, to save our civilians and to rebuild Ukraine,” by donating to the United24 website.

According to estimates, the damage caused by destroyed infrastructure already amounts to several hundred billion euros.

The central bank is to report every day on the receipt of funds.

The responsible ministries are also to report on the use of funds once a week.

An external audit will take place every quarter.

Already, a large part of the social expenditure of the Ukrainian budget is financed with funds from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The non-governmental organisation Transparency International lists Ukraine among the most corrupt countries in Europe.

On Thursday, an international donor conference organised by Poland and Sweden in Warsaw raised a further $US6.5 billion ($9.0 billion) for humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Ukraine:  12 Russian generals killed

The United States has provided details on the location of Russia’s mobile military headquarters, allowing Ukrainian forces to strike those targets and kill Russian generals, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing senior US officials.

Ukrainian officials said they have killed about 12 Russian generals on the battlefield, the newspaper said. The Pentagon and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.

A source said European Union envoys could reach a deal as early as Thursday on a plan to phase out imports of Russian crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of this year. It requires agreement by all 27 EU governments.

The plan also targets Russia’s top bank, its broadcasters, and hundreds of individuals. It would follow US and British oil bans and be a watershed for the EU, the world’s largest trading bloc, which remains dependent on Russian energy.

Kremlin weighing responses to EU sanctions

The Kremlin said Russia was weighing responses to the EU plan, which it said would be costly for European citizens.

Ukraine and Russia said fighting had been heavy across the south and east over the past day.

More than five million Ukrainians have fled abroad since Putin launched the invasion on February 24. Millions more are displaced inside Ukraine.

Russia calls its actions a “special operation” to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Ukraine and the West say the fascist allegation is baseless and that the war is an unprovoked act of aggression.

-Reuters