Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked for the UN to help evacuate all wounded persons from Azovstal during his telephone conversation with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday.

"The lives of the people who remain there are in danger," Zelenskyy told Guterres.

The Ukrainian president "expressed hope for a successful continuation of the ongoing evacuation operation".

Zelenskyy said that 344 people were evacuated from Mariupol and surrounding areas to Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday, during his nightly address.

"I am grateful to all those who make the evacuation operation successful," Zelenskyy said.