Russian announces ceasefire in Mariupol today as toll in port city climbs to 5k
On Wednesday, Russia's defence ministry said that the humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, via the Russian-controlled port of Berdyansk will open from 10 am on Thursday.
Russia has announced a local ceasefire in Ukraine's besieged port city of Mariupol on Thursday to evacuate civilians.
On Wednesday, Russia's defence ministry said that the humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, via the Russian-controlled port of Berdyansk will open from 10 am on Thursday.
The ministry added that for the civilian evacuations to succeed, it proposed to carry out the humanitarian operation with the direct participation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The ministry also urged the Ukrainian government to guarantee unconditional respect for Thursday's ceasefire through written notification to Russia, the UNHCR and the ICRC before 6 am.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine on February 24, Mariupol has been one of the worst-hit cities by Russian bombardments. The port city, which had a population of 400,000 before the war, has been a key target area for Russian forces in their attempt to create a land bridge between the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow seized from Ukraine back in 2014.
Presidential adviser Tetyana Lomakina told news agency AFP on Monday that at least 5,000 people have been killed in Mariupol, adding the casualties could only be estimated with bodies stuck under the rubble.
"We could be talking about 10,000 dead," Lomakina, who is also in charge of humanitarian corridors, added.
As many as 170,000 people in Mariupol still remain encircled by Russian forces amid a severe shortage of food, heat, power and medicines.
In another attack, a Red Cross facility in the port city was hit by Russian strikes with no confirmation of deaths or injuries, AFP reported on Wednesday. It is also not yet known when the strike happened.
"In Mariupol, the occupiers aimed at the building of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Enemy aircraft and artillery fired on a building marked with a red cross on a white background, indicating the presence of wounded people or civilian or humanitarian cargo" Ukrainian ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Russia's offensive in Mariupol is a crime against humanity, adding Russian forces blowing up shelters in the port city despite knowing the fact that civilians were hidden.
(With agency inputs)