According to the mayor of Mariupol, Ukraine hopes to evacuate 6,000 women, children, and the elderly from the besieged city on Wednesday if a preliminary agreement with Russia holds.
Vadym Boichenko, the mayor of Mariupol, who has left the city, said 90 buses were waiting to transport people to the devastated southern port city. He stressed that the deal was merely a first step and that over 100,000 civilians remained in the area.
If the arrangement holds, it will be the first time since March 5 that a safe route for people fleeing Mariupol to other Ukrainian cities has been established. That arrangement, however, swiftly fell apart, leaving many residents without power, running water, or other necessities for weeks.
“We intend to send buses to Mariupol,” Boichenko said on national television, ‘but for the time being, it is only a preliminary agreement.’
He claimed that since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, tens of thousands of people had been killed in the city on the Sea of Azov, which has been largely destroyed. Reuters was unable to verify the figure.
Russia denies purposefully targeting people, and there was no immediate indication from Moscow on whether a humanitarian passage from Mariupol will be provided.
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