Today we are again trying to evacuate women, children and the elderly
the official said on Facebook, adding that the civilians had started gathering near a shopping center in the city and hoped to be able to start evacuating around 12 p.m. local time (5 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time). .
After several days without possible evacuations, three buses of evacuees from Mariupol were able to arrive in Zaporijjia on Thursday.
Ms Vereshchuk, however, warned that Russian forces might want to organize another evacuation corridor in parallel, towards Russia this time. be careful
she launched. Do not succumb to deception and provocation
.
This new attempt comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Friday evening, on the eve of the Orthodox Easter weekend, for a humanitarian break
to evacuate civilians from Ukrainian cities besieged by the Russians, starting with Mariupol, besieged and shelled by the Russian army since the beginning of March.
Although this strategic port on the Sea of ​​Azov is now largely controlled by the Russian army, the last Ukrainian fighters, notably belonging to the Azov battalion, are entrenched in the immense Azovstal metallurgical complex.
They have been asking for several days that the women and children, who would be hundreds with them taking refuge in the undergrounds of this complex, can be evacuated. with guarantees
of security.
More and more bombs fall on Luhansk
Further north, not far from the border, the towns of the Luhansk region still controlled by the Ukrainians are being shelled more and more intensely, said the governor of the region on Saturday morning.
Ukrainian forces left some locations they controlled, but only to regroup, Serhiy Haidai added.
