From the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, according to the head of state Volodymyr Zelensky more than 3,000 people were brought to safety. “Today there were humanitarian corridors in three regions: Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia,” Zelenskiy said in a video speech published on Saturday night. “We managed to save 6,266 people, including 3,071 people from Mariupol.”
Dozens of buses with civilians from the besieged Ukrainian port of Mariupol and other displaced people on board arrived in Zaporizhia, 220 kilometers away, late on Friday. The buses were crammed with residents of Mariupol who managed to reach the Russian army-controlled city of Berdiansk, where they were caught by the convoy, fugitives and officials told AFP.
42 buses
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a video on the Telegram message service that 42 buses were on their way to bring civilians from Mariupol to safety. An AFP reporter in Zaporizhia saw about 30 buses there.
Vereshchuk promised many other civilians trapped in Mariupol that he would continue to do everything in his power to save them. “We know how much you want to be saved,” said the deputy prime minister. “Every day we will keep trying to get through this until you have a chance to get out of town and, most importantly, live a peaceful life.”
Mariupol under massive bombardment
Mariupol has been under massive fire from Russian forces for weeks. According to Ukrainian information, at least 5,000 people have been killed in the city since the start of the war, and some 160,000 civilians are still trapped in the largely destroyed city. The humanitarian situation in the city is devastating; people have little access to water, food and electricity.
saturday train
An International Red Cross (ICRC) convoy will make another attempt to evacuate civilians from Mariupol on Saturday. On Friday, ICRC staff had to cancel a rescue operation aimed at escorting a convoy of 54 Ukrainian buses and private vehicles out of the city. The evacuation of Mariupol was approved by both sides, the ICRC said in a statement. Important details, such as the exact time and destination of the train, have not yet been defined.
Selensky warns against accepting posts
Meanwhile, Zelensky warned people in the south of the Russian-controlled country not to accept positions in the occupation regime. In his video speech, he referred to these people as Gauleiters, like the Nazis. “My message to them is simple: responsibility for collaboration is inevitable,” Zelensky said in Kiev. According to Ukrainian sources, Russia is trying to establish pro-Moscow administrations in the occupied territories.
“Protect your children!”
In Russian, Zelensky addressed the parents of young people in Russia who were called up for military service on April 1. “Protect your children!” he said. Parents should do everything to protect their children from the army. The risk is high of being sent to war in Ukraine. “That’s guaranteed death for a lot of very young guys.”
Ukrainian army last success
The Ukrainian army has recently liberated many occupied cities in the north, Zelensky said. However, he warned the villagers who fled against returning to their homeland too quickly. More bomb attacks threatened there, and many houses were still mined.
mayor defected
According to pro-Russian separatists in the Luhansk region, the mayor of the eastern Ukrainian city of Rubishne has defected to them. Mayor Serhiy Khortyv urged Ukrainian troops to lay down their weapons, separatist news agency Lug-Info reported late on Friday.
In a video, Khortyv repeated Moscow’s thesis that Ukraine was committing genocide against its Russian-speaking population. It was unclear under what circumstances the video was recorded. Rubishne is the eighth largest city in the Luhansk region and had around 60,000 inhabitants before the war. The city has not been in separatist hands until now. Kiev politicians have threatened Khortyv with retaliation.
When the Russian-fueled struggle of eastern Ukrainian separatists against the Kiev government began in 2014, many local politicians defected to them. In the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine since February 24, however, most local and regional administrations support Kiev. This could be one reason for the successful Ukrainian resistance so far.