E-Paper
Ukraine war: Evacuation at Mariupol ‘thwarted’ by Russian forces, says official
Earlier, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk had said that there would be another attempt to evacuate women, children and the elderly from Mariupol on Saturday, which has been besieged by Moscow for weeks.
An official in Mariupol said on Saturday that evacuation efforts in the Ukrainian city were "thwarted" by Russian forces. Taking to Telegram, city official Petro Andryushchenko said the evacuation was thwarted, adding that around 200 residents had gathered at an evacuation meeting point announced by the Ukrainian government.
However, the Russian forces dispersed the residents, Andryushchenko said. The city official also said that some other residents were told to board buses that were heading to places controlled by Russia.
Earlier, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk had said that there would be another attempt to evacuate women, children and the elderly from Mariupol on Saturday, which has been besieged by Moscow for weeks.
Many evacuation efforts have previously failed in the city amid an intensifying Russian offensive.
The Kremlin has claimed that it had seized all of Mariupol except the Azovstal plant- which has become the last stronghold of Kyiv's resistance.
On Friday, the Russian defence ministry said that Ukrainian fighters and foreign mercenaries were securely blockaded at the plant. "All remnants of the Ukrainian 'Azov' Nazis, together with foreign mercenaries from the United States and European countries, are securely blockaded on the territory of the Azovstal plant," the ministry said in a statement, news agency Reuters reported.
The blockade comes after President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered to block off the Azovstal complex so that not "even a fly can get through", instead of storming it.
Meanwhile, at least five people, including a baby were killed and 18 others were injured after the Odessa city in Ukraine was hit by a Russian strike, news agency AFP reported. The government said that the toll in this latest strike is likely to rise.
Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine will complete two months on Sunday. President Vladimir Putin has justified his actions in Ukraine with the aim of demilitarising and denazifying the country. However, the Ukrainian government and the West have dismissed this as baseless war propaganda.
Next week, United Nations secretary-general António Guterres will meet Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to end human suffering and bring about peace in Ukraine.
(With agency inputs)
