The war in Ukraine (Photo: Shatterstock)
The fighting continues: After the ceasefire collapsed for the fifth time in a row, Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for violating the agreements that led to the failure of the evacuation efforts.
According to the agreement announced this morning (Wednesday) between Moscow and Kiev, six humanitarian corridors were to be opened today in Kiev, Chernivtsi, Enruhder, Mariupol, Sumy and Kharkov. Although throughout most of the day the calm seemed to have been maintained, in Ukraine it was claimed that the Russians respected the ceasefire only in Sumy and Anharodor, but in the big cities the evacuation was unsuccessful.
A senior adviser to Ukrainian Interior Minister Dim Danichenko claimed tonight that “the Russians have failed to honor the agreements on the construction of humanitarian corridors.” “Russian forces regularly attacked the cities and did not allow the evacuation of civilians from the affected cities,” he said. It was further alleged that dozens of buses were sent to evacuate residents, but Russian forces shelled them and prevented the evacuation.
It was further alleged that most of the fighting today was recorded in the city of Mariupol, which remained besieged and in a severe humanitarian crisis. Authorities said the Russians continued to bomb the city, including attacking a children’s hospital and destroying it completely – with “tremendous destruction, and it is unclear how many people were injured.”
The destruction in Mariupol (Photo: From the Telegram of the President of Ukraine)
The deputy mayor of Mariupol, Sarhai Orlov, said 1,170 of the city’s citizens had been killed so far since the beginning of the Russian invasion. “Russia continues to hold more than 400,000 residents of Mariupol hostage. It is preventing humanitarian aid and evacuations, and the indiscriminate shelling continues,” he said. “Meanwhile, people are left without water, electricity, heating or gas, they are melting snow so they can drink.”
Russia claims: Ukrainian separatists prevented the evacuation
Russia, on the other hand, has denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday stating “Similar, baseless allegations concerning Russia’s intelligence have been made more than once. According to them, it is the pro-Russian separatists who have attacked the humanitarian corridors in recent days.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke tonight with German Chancellor Olaf Schultz following the ceasefire, when he also blamed Ukrainian rebels for violating the ceasefire. The Kremlin said Putin “emphasized the effort in the humanitarian aspect, which included agreeing to organize humanitarian corridors that would allow civilians to evacuate from the war zones. Unfortunately, the attacks of the nationalist militants have hampered the evacuation efforts of the residents.”
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense updated tonight that since the beginning of the war Russian military forces have destroyed 974 Ukrainian tanks, alongside 97 UAVs intercepted.
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