An evacuation set to escort Ukrainian civilians out of Mariupol was disrupted when the Russian military instead took them into “occupied territory” on Saturday, a Ukrainian leader said.
At least 200 Ukrainians gathered near a shopping mall in the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukraine, at 11 a.m. local time to be evacuated to Zaporizhzhia, according to Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the city’s mayor. The Russians had initially agreed to provide buses for the residents, but when they arrived, the military told them they had to disperse because “there will be shelling now.”
Russian troops then brought buses to a pick-up site about 200 meters away from the agreed-upon location, telling civilians they would instead be transported to the city of Dokuchaevsk, which is currently in one of the “occupied territories,” according to Andriushchenko. The Ukrainian residents were not allowed to exit the bus, he said.
SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS MASS GRAVE NEAR MARIUPOL: REPORT
The military changed locations because the original evacuation location was under attack by “nationalists,” troops told the civilians. However, Andriushchenko denounced that as a lie.
“Yes, once again, the Russians disrupted the evacuation,” the mayor’s adviser wrote in a Telegram post. “Arrogantly using the efforts of Mariupol residents to return home and the honesty of the Ukrainian army in a ceasefire to organize their own plans.”
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The Ukrainian Parliament also confirmed the thwarted evacuation in a tweet Saturday, saying, “Russian occupiers again disrupted the evacuation from #Mariupol.”
Russian forces have pummeled Mariupol, a strategically important port city on the coast of the Sea of Azov. The death toll in the city could be above 20,000, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said earlier this month.
