INTERNATIONAL – The UN this Sunday called for an “immediate” ceasefire in Mariupol to allow the evacuation of some 100,000 civilians still stuck in this Ukrainian port, which is almost entirely controlled by the Russian army.
“There must now be a pause in the fighting to save lives. The longer we wait, the more lives will be at risk. They must be evacuated now, today. Tomorrow will be too late,” UN coordinator in Ukraine Amin Awad said in a statement.
While Vladimir Putin celebrates Orthodox Easter with great fanfare in Moscow this Sunday, Ukraine continues to suffer from attacks by the Russian army. Several cities were the target of Russian strikes on Saturday. as you can see in the video at the top of the article.
At least five people, including a baby, have been killed in Russian attacks on the port city of Odessa in southern Ukraine, according to Kyiv, which fears an increase in tolls. Russia also claimed to have used high-precision missiles to hit a large depot of weapons that had been supplied to Ukrainian forces near Odessa by the United States and European countries.
Calls for a ceasefire remained a dead letter
Calls for a ceasefire for the Orthodox Easter had multiplied in recent days. A “humanitarian pause” was called for in particular by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Mariupol. The aim was to enable the civilians who were still present to leave the dangerous areas. But the evacuation was rejected by Moscow and, more generally, calls for an Easter truce remained dead letter, according to Ukrainian authorities.
The US heads of diplomacy and defense are expected in Kyiv on Sunday, for the first time since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is entering its third month.
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