Mariupol, surrounded since the early days of the five-week Russian invasion, has been Moscow’s main target in the Donbas region of southeastern Ukraine. Tens of thousands of people are trapped there with limited access to food and water.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sent a team on Friday to lead a convoy of about 54 Ukrainian buses and other private vehicles out of town, but they turned back, saying conditions made any pursuit.
“They will try again on Saturday to facilitate the safe passage of civilians,” the ICRC said in a statement. A previous evacuation attempt by the Red Cross in early March failed because the route proved dangerous.
During the war, Russia and Ukraine agreed on humanitarian corridors which facilitated the evacuation of thousands of civilians.
The ICRC says its Mariupol operation has been approved by both sides, but important details were still being worked out, such as the exact time and destination of the convoy, which is believed to be an undetermined location in Ukraine.
In an early morning video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that Russian troops have moved towards the Donbas region and northeast towards Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, where previous strikes Russians have seriously damaged urban areas.
“I hope there are still solutions for the Mariupol situation,” Zelenskiy said. “The whole world must react to this humanitarian catastrophe”.
CHANGE OF KYIV
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops on February 24 for what he called a “special operation” aimed at demilitarizing Ukraine.
The West calls it an unprovoked war of aggression that has claimed thousands of lives, uprooted a quarter of Ukraine’s population and raised tensions between Russia and the United States to their worst point since the Cold War.
In a bid to lower nuclear tensions with Russia, the US military canceled an intercontinental ballistic missile test it initially intended only to delay, the Air Force told Reuters.
But the United States and its European allies have sent military assistance to Ukraine, including an additional $300 million announced by the Pentagon late Friday. This new aid includes laser-guided rocket systems and anti-drone systems.
During the peace talks this week, Russia said Donbas, where it has supported the separatists since 2014, would now be at the center of its war efforts. Russian troops left behind ruined villages and their own abandoned tanks as they drove away from the capital kyiv.
“You see that (the) enemy overestimates its potential around kyiv at least. And we continue to advance by liberating our cities and evacuating our people,” said Deputy Interior Minister Yevhen Yenin.
After failing to capture a single major city, Russia presented its withdrawal of forces near kyiv as a goodwill gesture in the context of peace negotiations.
Ukraine and its allies say Russian forces were forced to regroup after suffering heavy casualties from determined Ukrainian resistance.
Across the border from Kharkiv, in the Russian town of Belgorod, Moscow said Ukrainian helicopters hit a fuel depot on Friday, causing a massive fire. Ukraine has denied any responsibility for the incident, the first of its kind in the war.
The blaze destroyed several oil tanks and is likely to add short-term pressure to already strained Russian supply chains, particularly Kharkiv operations, the UK defense minister said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the incident could jeopardize peace talks. Russia will strengthen its western borders so that it does not occur to anyone to attack,” Peskov said later.
ODESA STRIKES
As Ukrainian forces recaptured new territory around kyiv on Friday, officials at the Black Sea port of Odesa said anti-aircraft defenses foiled an attempted attack on critical infrastructure in the city . Reuters could not immediately verify this story.
Odesa Governor Maksym Marchenko said three missiles hit a residential area, causing casualties. He said the missiles were fired from an Iskander missile system in Crime, the southern Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
Russia denies targeting civilians. Odesa and Mariupol straddle the Black Sea and have been favored targets for Russia partly because of their strategic location.
Facing unprecedented sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia had threatened to cut gas supplies to Europe unless buyers paid in roubles. Europe has vowed to remain united against Russia’s demand, and Moscow has said it will not cut off supplies until new payments are due later in April.
Mediators from Turkey, where the latest round of face-to-face peace talks were held, and the United Nations have been pushing for a pause in the fighting.
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths will visit Moscow on Sunday and then Kyiv as part of UN efforts to secure a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine, the Secretary-General told reporters. of the UN, Antonio Guterres.