Nearly 125,000 people were evacuated via humanitarian corridors from conflict areas in Ukraine, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a video address on Sunday like Russian invasion continue to be met by fierce resistance.
“Today the key task is Mariupol,” he said, adding that a humanitarian supply convoy was now only 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the besieged port. city or more over 400,000 people are trapped.
The Russian military noted last week that he had applied a new to cease-fire in Ukraine and opened humanitarian corridors in five cities.
In the capital Kyiv as well as in the cities of Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and the particularly beleaguered port city of Mariupol, people should to be able to go to safety, the Ukrainian authorities announced on Tuesday. Ukraine has started evacuating civilians from the northeast city of Sumy and the city of near Irpin Kyiv said Ukrainian officials.
Sumy Governor Dmitro Zhivitskiy said in a video statement that the first the buses had already left Sumy for the city of Poltava, further west. He indicated that priority would be given to disabledPregnant women and children in orphanages. A short video clip released by presidential adviser Kyrolo Tymoshenko showed a red bus with some civilians on board.
“It was agreed that the first the convoy goes start at 10:00 a.m. (8:00 GMT) from city of Sumy. The convoy will be followed by the locals population in personnel vehicles”said Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. in a television statement.
Russian agencies also reported last week that Moscow will open daily humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians fleeing the fighting in Ukraine on son territory, despite Kyiv insisting that no escape route should lead in Russia.
“Humanitarian corridors to the Russian Federation will now be open, without any agreement, every day from 10:00 a.m.,” the Russian Defense Ministry said. official Mikhail Mizintsev has been quoted by Russian agencies. He said the escape routes in other directions would follow”in OK with Ukrainian side.”
“We ask the Committee international of the Red Cross and the United Nations work closely with Ukrainian authorities on the field to inform the population of this Russian initiative,” he said.
He also said the Russian military was working “in close with Ukrainian representatives” to open three more humanitarian corridors.
