Evacuation in bus convoys
Russia announces ceasefire in Mariupol
03/31/2022, 00:10
Around 160,000 civilians remain in Mariupol while Russian troops level their city. They have been cut off from all supplies for weeks. Russia is now announcing a ceasefire from Thursday morning to allow them to escape.
The Russian Defense Ministry has announced a ceasefire in the southern Ukrainian port of Mariupol. The measure will come into force on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. (09:00 a.m. CEST) and should create the opportunity to get civilians out of the besieged city via a humanitarian corridor, the ministry said on Wednesday evening.
“For this humanitarian operation to be successful, we propose direct involvement of representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),” the statement said. The Ukrainian army must also ensure the security of the bus convoys in which the civilians are to be transported.
The humanitarian corridor is said to lead to Zaporizhia via the city of Berdyansk, which is under Russian control. The Ukrainian side has until 6:00 a.m. Thursday morning (5:00 a.m. CEST) to declare a ceasefire, Major General Mikhail Mizintsev said, according to the Interfax agency.
Ukraine and Russia have repeatedly accused each other of sabotaging the escape of residents from Mariupol. Recently, French President Emmanuel Macron had also insisted on a humanitarian aid campaign for the city surrounded by Russian troops in a telephone call with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. Mariupol has been cut off from all supplies for weeks and is under heavy fire from Russian forces. The city has now been largely destroyed, but around 160,000 residents are said to be stuck there. The situation on the ground is catastrophic. According to Ukrainian sources, at least 5,000 people have died.