Russia announces ceasefire in Mariupol
The Russian Defense Ministry announced a ceasefire today to clear the way for the evacuation of people from the port city of Mariupol, in southeastern Ukraine.
The humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol to the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, through the port of Berdiansk controlled by Russian forces, will be opened from 10:00 am today (14:00 GMT), the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. .
“For this humanitarian operation to be successful, we propose to do it together with the direct participation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross,” the Russian Defense Ministry said. speak.
The Russian Defense Ministry asked Ukraine to ensure “unconditional respect” for the ceasefire before 6 am today. The Russian side also asked Ukrainian forces to commit to ensuring the security of buses evacuating civilians.
The Russian side also agreed with Ukraine’s proposal to open four new humanitarian corridors from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia in the past 24 hours.
Damaged apartment buildings in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 30. Photo: Reuters.
The decision to cease fire in Mariupol was made after French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the evening of March 29. During the phone call, the Russian leader agreed to review a plan to evacuate civilians from besieged Ukrainian cities, French officials said.
However, Putin also insisted that the shelling in Mariupol would end only when “Ukrainian nationalist fighters stopped resisting and surrendered”, according to a statement from the Kremlin.
The Russian president also provided Mr. Macron with “detailed information on the measures taken by the Russian military to provide emergency humanitarian assistance and ensure the safe evacuation” of civilians in Mariupol.
Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk on March 29 also announced the opening of three humanitarian corridors in besieged cities, including Mariupol. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said on March 28 that humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians in the city were mainly controlled by Russian forces.
Mayor Mariupol stressed that the entire remaining population in the city, estimated at 160,000, needs to be evacuated as the area is left without electricity, water and no phone connection.
Mariupol, with its strategic location on the Sea of Azov, the corridor on the junction connecting the Crimea peninsula with the breakaway region in eastern Ukraine, has been the target of a siege by Russian forces since early March. If they control Mariupol, Russian forces will connect the strategic corridor and completely block the gateway to the Sea of Azov of Ukraine.
Moscow and Kiev have repeatedly issued contradictory statements on the issue of the evacuation of Ukrainian civilians, in the context of the hostilities showing no signs of abating. Ukrainian officials accuse the Russian military of confiscating the passports of Ukrainian citizens and sending them to separatist-controlled camps in the east, before moving them to remote areas in Russia.
However, the Russia Deny accusations, affirm civilians Ukraine evacuated according to their wishes. Moscow has also repeatedly accused Kiev of obstructing the evacuation to “use civilians as human shields”.
The appearance of the Ukrainian battlefield after a month of fighting. Click on the picture to see details.
Ngoc Anh (According to AFP)
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