The evacuation of civilians from the major port city of Mariupol is postponed. It should have started at the end of the morning, Saturday March 5. It is the municipality which announces it on Telegram messaging. According to her, the Russian forces “continue to shell Mariupol and its surroundings”contrary to the commitments made overnight from Friday to Saturday by Moscow.
Located on the Sea of Azov, east of the Crimean peninsula, Mariupol is the next objective of the Russian army. The latter confirmed having taken over «l’offensive»by the voice of a spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Defense: “Due to the reluctance of the Ukrainian side to influence the nationalists or extend the ‘ceasefire’, offensive operations have resumed since 6:00 p.m. Moscow time.”he said in a video message.
A ceasefire had been declared following a consultation between representatives of Kiev and Moscow, in order to allow the evacuation of civilians. According to its mayor, the city, which normally has 450,000 inhabitants, is subject to a “blockade”.
Humanitarian Corridors
The pro-Russian separatist forces and the army for their part indicated that the city was simply “surrounded”. The announcement of a humanitarian truce was made by the Russian Defense Ministry, quoted by Russian news agencies: “The Russian side declares a regime of silence (of arms) and the opening of humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol and Volnovakha”. The city of Volnovakha, 23,000 inhabitants, is located about sixty kilometers north of Mariupol. The ministry said the location of the humanitarian corridors and exit points had been determined in agreement with the Ukrainian authorities, according to the agencies.
Before the Russian ministry’s announcement on Saturday, the mayor of Mariupol had called for a ceasefire “so that we can restore vital infrastructure and set up a humanitarian corridor to bring food and medicine to the city”.