Russian forces advance in Mariupoli, Ukraine
Moscow:
Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed Mariupol’s “successful liberation”, news agency AFP reported. He has ordered a siege site of an attack on a steel plant in a Ukrainian city.
The government said on Thursday that four evacuation buses from Mariupol had left the besieged and destroyed port city, where Ukrainian forces are battling to maintain control.
“Four evacuation buses managed to leave the city yesterday through the humanitarian corridor,” Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk said on social media, adding that the evacuation of women, children and the elderly would continue on Thursday.
“The security situation is tough. Things can change,” she said.
The Battle of Mariupol nears a turning point after nearly two months of disastrous fighting, in which countless civilians have been trapped and killed.
Control of Mariupol and the separatist-controlled eastern Donbass region would allow Moscow to complete a southern corridor to the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014, depriving Ukraine of much of its coastline.
On Wednesday, Ukraine’s senior negotiator and presidential aide Mykhailo Podolik proposed a “special round” of talks in the city to “save our people”.