Seven humanitarian corridors have opened in Mariupol, Ukraine, Tuesday to evacuate some of the city's 130,000 remaining residents, many of whom have been living without food, water or shelter, amid Russian military attacks, a senior Ukrainian official said.
The seven corridors will allow the residents to be transported to Zaporizhia (about 140 miles northwest of Mariupol), Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Telegram.
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"Despite the promises of its leadership, the occupying forces do not allow anyone to travel to Mariupol," she said in the post.
⚡️More than 3,000 people evacuated on April 4.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) April 5, 2022
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that 3,376 people, mostly from Mariupol, Berdyansk and Zaporizhia region, have been safely evacuated.
"The [Russian] occupiers blocked the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Manhush," she added, noting that additional evacuation routes have been planned for Manhush, via bus to the port city of Berdyansk, which will then travel to Zaporizhia.
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The deputy PM’s message included an evacuation route via vehicular transport planned for the port city of Berdyansk, to Zaporizhia, and an evacuation route in Vaslyivka.
"In addition, 15 buses are currently waiting to pass at the checkpoint in Vasylivka to evacuate people from Berdyansk," she added.
About 130K residents still remain in a besieged #Mariupol.
— Emine Dzheppar (@EmineDzheppar) April 4, 2022
The city is destroyed.#Russian invaders keep shelling it&deny access for humanitarian assistance.
People exist there without food, water, medications, electricity.#Russia is killing more & more daily.#StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/7D9RYBpDld
In a previous statement, Vereshchuk encouraged the world to help convince Russia to release captured Ukrainians.
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"We demand everyone on whom it depends to do everything possible to make sure our civilians, our mayors, our clergymen, journalists, activists are released," she said.
On Saturday, more than 3,300 people safely evacuated Mariupol, Berdyansk, and Zaporizhia, Vereshchuk said.