More than 3,000 people have fled the Mariupol region in buses and private cars, Ukrainian authorities have announced, as the Red Cross, after an initial failure, prepares a new attempt to evacuate the besieged and devastated port city on Saturday. .
On the 37th day of the invasion of Ukraine decided by Moscow, the Russian forces loosen their grip on kyiv and regroup to concentrate on the East of the country, where they will face a hardened Ukrainian army, which suggests a “protracted” conflict, which could last for months, the Pentagon has warned.
In the south-east, Mariupol remains disputed by both sides, and the humanitarian situation there is catastrophic. Evacuations of civilians, impossible for weeks, are now being done gradually.
“Today (Friday) the humanitarian corridors worked in three regions: Donetsk, Lugansk and Zaporozhye. We managed to save 6,266 people, including 3,071 from Mariupol,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video broadcast in the night from Friday to Saturday.
“1,431 people traveled from Berdyansk and Melitopol on their own to Zaporozhye. 771 of them came from Mariupol”, and “42 buses from the city of Berdyansk with Mariupol residents and 12 from Melitopol with local residents” were en route in the evening to Zaporozhye, for a total of “more than 2,500 people”, said Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, stressing that other evacuations were “expected and planned” during the day on Saturday.
On Friday evening, AFP observed around 30 evacuation buses enter the city of Zaporozhye, some of them carrying people who had fled Mariupol on their own and then been taken by bus to the territory controlled by Ukraine.
“I’m crying, I just saw my granddaughter,” said Olga, a Ukrainian who was waiting at the center organized in Zaporozhye for displaced families.
“His mother’s family is still in Mariupol and we don’t know if they are alive,” she added. “There are no words to say how happy I am to see her safe.”
– “Impossible” –
These residents of Mariupol had managed to reach the city of Berdiansk, occupied by Russian forces, where they had been taken care of by the convoy, according to testimonies of arrivals to AFP and official officials.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which was to take part in the evacuation, announced on Friday that its team sent to Mariupol had to turn back, the planned evacuation of thousands of civilians from this port city besieged by the Russian forces being “impossible” that day.
“The ICRC team, which includes three vehicles and nine people, did not reach Mariupol and was unable to facilitate the safe passage of civilians today,” the organization said in a statement at the time.
“They will try again on Saturday to facilitate the safe passage of civilians from Mariupol,” the Red Cross added.
The latter stressed that “for the operation to succeed, it is essential that the parties respect the agreements and provide the necessary conditions and security guarantees”.
Conditions weakened by the continued fighting. Russia on Friday accused Ukraine of carrying out a helicopter strike on its soil and threatening to toughen negotiations.
kyiv would not say whether it was behind the attack, with President Zelensky telling US broadcaster Fox News: “I’m sorry, I’m not discussing my orders as commander-in-chief.”
The Pentagon has announced that it will provide up to $300 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, including laser-guided missile systems, Switchblade “kamikaze” drones, as well as light drones of the type Puma.
On Sunday, Britain’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths will be in Moscow to try to secure a “humanitarian ceasefire” in Ukraine, the UN chief said on Friday. , Antonio Guterres.