The civilians from Volnovakha and Mariupol are unlikely to be evacuated on Saturday.
The humanitarian corridors from Mariupol’s Azov Sea port city and the nearby city of Volnovakha are unlikely to open according to a statement issued by International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) on Saturday. It is still unknown when the safe evacuation operation might begin.
According to Mariupol authorities, the evacuation of civilians scheduled for today has been postponed, because negotiations with Moscow are still ongoing.
Only 17 people managed to flee Mariupol, according to Eduard Basurin, the official representative of the People’s Militia. Among those, 12 are adults and 5 are children. However, no one has left Volnovakha.
“We understand that the safe passage operations from Mariupol and Volnovakha will not start today. We remain in dialogue with the parties about the safe passage of civilians from different cities affected by the conflict. “
ICRC tweeted.
The organisation said that it stands with the people and will welcome all initiatives for the evacuation of civilians.
Russia blames Ukrainian radical Nationalists
The DPR forces have surrounded both cities. The Russian Ministry of Defense has established safe passages for humanitarian evacuations from Mariupol and Volnovakha.
The DPR forces, along with the Russian Ministry of Defence, assert that the Ukrainian extremist nationalists are not letting civilians evacuate safely.
The main cause for the postponement of the evacuation effort, according to Mariupol Mayor Vadim Boychenko, is the shelling by Russian Forces.
Approximately 200,000 Mariupol residents and 15,000 Volnovakha residents are likely to evacuate through these humanitarian corridors.
Edited by: Kiran Maharana
Published by: Vishakha Verma
