According to the government, three escape corridors are to be opened in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Tuesday. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk in a video message published on Telegram. The people should therefore be brought from the surrounding towns of Berdyansk, Jurjiwka and Nikolske to the city of Zaporizhia.
It is clear that there are not enough places, Vereshchuk continues. Therefore, the citizens are asked to follow the instructions of the local authorities and to go to the buses in an organized manner. Vereshchuk promised that no one would be left behind. Evacuations will continue daily until everyone has been evacuated from the city.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, up to 130,000 residents still live in the city on the Azov Sea – it used to be around 440,000. Russia and Ukraine repeatedly accuse each other of preventing people from fleeing along humanitarian corridors.