Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk on Saturday announced a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol, after a previous brief stoppage due to security concerns.
“We are trying to get the women, children and the elderly out again today,” she said.
“We are starting to gather around the Port City mall. If everything goes as planned, evacuations will start at noon,” Vereshchuk said in a statement on Telegram.
She warned, however, that Russian troops could open a “parallel corridor” to take residents into Russian-controlled territories. She urged residents to be vigilant and “do not follow any deception and provocation” from the Russian side.
“Our runners will only take place on the following itinerary towards Zaporizhzhia: Manhush, Berdiansk, Tokmak, Orihiv,” said Vereshchuk.
US and European officials have alleged that Russian forces are forcibly deporting residents of Mariupol to separatist-controlled territory in Ukraine and, in some cases, even Russia, after leaving them without phones and identification and tracking them through a surveillance system. called the “filtering” process.
Ukraine is evacuating civilians to the government-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia, but convoys are expected to travel through a number of Russian-controlled cities and military posts.
Ukrainian officials said more than 100,000 people still remain in the southern city of Mariupol.
The Russian government claims to control the strategic port, but Ukrainian fighters continue to hold out at the city’s massive Azovstal steel factory.
Source: CNN Brasil
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