Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk confirmed Wednesday that the humanitarian corridor that opened throughout the day in Mariupol did not work as planned, blaming Russia for the “lack of control over its own army.” “.
“Due to the lack of control over their own army, the invaders could not guarantee a proper truce.‘ Vereshchuk said in a statement released through his Facebook profile.
Vereshchuk, in turn, has pointed to the “inherent disorganization and laxity” of the Russian authorities as part of the failure, which also failed to “provide timely transportation” to get people to the point where “dozens” left Ukraine chartered buses and ambulances were waiting.
Vereshchuk said that this Thursday attempts to evacuate the people of Mariupol to a safe place will resume and promised them that Ukraine will fight for each of them.
Ukrainian authorities announced this Wednesday that a humanitarian corridor would be opened during the day to allow the evacuation of civilians from the city of Mariúpol, located in the south-east of the country and for weeks the scene of a siege and offensive by Russian forces.
Vereshchuk has indicated that a humanitarian corridor was agreed to bring women, children and the elderly out of Mariupol by a convoy that would go to Zaporizhia and pass through Mangush, Berdiansk, Tokmak and Orijiv, although he did not rule out changes in the corridor “due to the very difficult security situation”.
Armed forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic on Tuesday announced the start of an offensive against the Azovstal Steel Plant after Russia announced on Monday that Ukrainian forces had surrounded the plant.
Russia has repeatedly called for the surrender of “fighters from nationalist battalions” and “foreign mercenaries”, including the Azov Battalion – a neo-Nazi armed group integrated into Ukraine’s security forces.
Offensive in Mariupol
Russia, which was poised to capture the city of Mariupol after weeks of bombing, on Wednesday kept up its military pressure on eastern Ukraine, which has been bolstered by the European Union (EU), determined to do “everything possible” for the former Soviet Republic “wins the war” against Moscow.
Russia called the last Ukrainian soldiers to the port city of Mariupol, entrenched in the vast Azovstal industrial complex, to lay down their arms.
“We may be living our last days or our last hours (…) The enemy outnumbers us ten to one” said the Ukrainian commander Serguiy Volyna of the 36th Naval Brigade from the underground passages of this large metallurgical factory.
In addition to the soldiers and militiamen, at least a thousand civilians are in the basement of the industrial complex, according to the Mariupol city administration, which estimates the number of civilians killed in the city since the siege began at more than 20,000.
“You are not alone. We are with you and will do everything we can to support your efforts and let Ukraine win the war,” said European Council President Charles Michel in a press conference together with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kiew.
“Today in Kyiv. In the heart of a free and democratic Europe,” Michel wrote on Twitter. “History will not forget the war crimes” committed by Russian troops, he said earlier in Borodianka, one of the destroyed towns near the capital.
The US Department of Defense said Ukraine has received parts for its planes from its allies but not full combat aircraft, as they previously reported.
Norway announced the delivery of 100 anti-aircraft missiles, while Washington is preparing another $800 million military aid package, less than a week after announcing another package of the same amount.
*With information from EP and AFP.
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