Nearly 7,000 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities on Sunday, including more than half of the population of Mariupol, using humanitarian corridors.
Ukraine has rejected Russian ultimatum offering residents of Mariupol, which is under siege, safe passage out of the port provided they submit.
Civilians would be permitted to leave if the city’s defenders laid down their arms, according to Russia’s proposal.
Ukraine, on the other hand, has resisted, claiming that handing over the key port city is out of the question.
It is believed that around 300,000 people have been stuck there, with a lack of supplies running and aid restrained from entering.
Residents have been without power or running water for weeks due to Russian airstrikes.
General Mikhail Mizintsev detailed the Russian proposal on Sunday, saying Ukraine had until 5:00 a.m. Moscow time (02:00 a.m. GMT) on Monday morning to accept its terms.
Russian troops would have established safe corridors out of Mariupol starting at 10:00 Moscow time (07:00 GMT) for the Ukrainian military and “foreign mercenaries” to disarm and depart the city, according to the plans.
Once the roads had been de-mined, Russian forces said they would have enabled humanitarian convoys carrying food, medicine, and other supplies to enter the city safely after two hours.
The offer would have allowed residents to evacuate securely to the east or west, according to Russian Gen Mizintsev, he admitted that a horrific humanitarian catastrophe was emerging there.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk responded to the offer by saying that Ukraine would continue to protect Mariupol.
“There can be no question of surrender, no laying down of arms,” as said by Ukrainska Pravda.
On Sunday, Pyotr Andryushenko, an adviser to Mariupol’s mayor, said that the city’s defenders will continue to battle. He stated, “We will battle until the last of our soldiers.”
As per his further statement, Moscow’s humanitarian assurances were untrustworthy, and he repeated unconfirmed reports made by Mariupol officials in recently. Russian forces were forcibly transferring some Mariupol citizens to Russia.
“What exactly do they [Russian forces] mean when they talk about humanitarian corridors? They are forcing our people to flee to Russia, ” Andryushenko stated the following.
Mariupol is a vital strategic goal for Russia, and it has witnessed some of the worst combat of the invasion.
Over the last three weeks, the Russian military has encircled the city, keeping its citizens within without access to electricity, water, or gas.
Although communication with residents is restricted, food and medical supplies are assumed to be running low, and Russia has barred any humanitarian help from entering the country.
The port city has seen some of the fiercest fighting in all of Ukraine since the invasion began, with Russian forces failing to seize the city from its defenders so far.
Since the conflict began three weeks ago, 90 percent of the city’s structures have been damaged or destroyed, according to one estimate, and authorities claim at least 2,500 people have been dead, though the true total could be higher.
Following the destruction of a theatre that housed over 1,000 people last week, Mariupol officials announced on Sunday that an art school with 400 people inside had also been targeted.
Russian fire has already thwarted attempts to evacuate Mariupol’s inhabitants. However, local authorities claim that many have been able to leave in private vehicles.
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister announced on Sunday, that 3,985 people have fled Mariupol for Zaporizhzhia and that the administration expects to spend approximately 50 buses to the city on Monday to pick up more evacuees.
The Russian siege, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, is a “war crime.”
“This is a calculated strategy,” he remarked. ” Russian soldiers have been given explicit orders to do everything possible to turn the humanitarian disaster in Ukrainian cities into an ‘excuse’ for Ukrainians to cooperate with the occupiers.”
The port city’s location on the Sea of Azov makes it a strategic target for Russia, as it would allow it to establish a land corridor between the Russian-backed separatist-controlled eastern territories of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Published By : VATSAL KOTHA
Edited By : KRITIKA KASHYAP
