A Ukrainian city halted civilian evacuations Saturday after Russia allegedly broke a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine.
The city of Mariupol suspended efforts to evacuate people after the city council claimed in a Telegram post that Russian armed forces were continuing to shell the city, according to NBC News.
“We ask all Mariupol residents to disperse and follow to the places of shelter,” the city council said in the Telegram post, according to the outlet.
A TRUE RUSSIAN VICTORY IN UKRAINE IS NOW NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE
The International Committee of the Red Cross, a “neutral and impartial humanitarian intermediary,” confirmed in a statement on Saturday that evacuations from both Mariupol and Volnovakha would not be able to take place.
“The scenes in Mariupol and in other cities today are heart-breaking. Any initiative from the parties that gives civilians a respite from the violence and allows them to voluntarily leave for safer areas is welcome. … ICRC’s space for neutral humanitarian action must be protected and respected, and the parties must facilitate sustained humanitarian access and operations,” ICRC said.
The agreement was broken just days after Ukrainian and Russian officials agreed to a Thursday ceasefire that would have allowed citizens in the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha to evacuate along human corridors.
“The Russian side is not holding to the ceasefire and has continued firing on Mariupol itself and on its surrounding area,” Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, confirmed, according to Axios. It was also reported that the ceasefire had been broken in Volnovakha.
Ukrainian officials continue to engage in talks with Russia to establish a humanitarian corridor for evacuation efforts, Tymoshenko added.
Listen to the Dep Mayor of Mariupol tell @JohnBerman about the critical situation there with Russian forces cutting off water, power, heating. Continuous shelling for 26 hours, “they are destroying our city.” He estimates 200 civilians dead but “we cannot collect all the bodies.” pic.twitter.com/e6yPDMaycb
— Alex Marquardt (@MarquardtA) March 3, 2022
Mariupol Deputy Mayor Sergei Orlov told CNN host John Berman during an interview Thursday that Russian armed forces had surrounded the city and that residents of the city had faced “continuous shelling for 26 hours.” Orlov also claimed that Russian armed forces had cutoff water, power, and heating in the city.
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More than 1.45 million people have left Ukraine since the invasion began, according to the United Nations.
