Ukraine’s President Zelensky has said evacuations of civilians have begun in the southern city of Mariupol. In the first phase, a group of 100 people left the area.
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He hopes the team will arrive in the country’s town of Zaporizhia tomorrow.
Earlier, Russia’s Defense Ministry said two groups of civilians had fled residential buildings adjacent to the Azovstal steel plant on Saturday as part of a ceasefire and humanitarian corridor implementation.
A statement from the country’s defense ministry said in a statement that 25 people had left the area by noon. Later in the evening, another group of 21 people left the area. They were taken to the village of Beziemen, between Mariupol and the Russian border. It was not immediately clear where the first team was taken.
Russian authorities have claimed that these citizens have been provided with accommodation, food and necessary medical treatment. A Defense Ministry video shows a convoy of cars and buses crossing an almost dark path. The letters ‘Z’ are written in capital letters on the cars. Russian troops used this signal during the war.
However, this information could not be verified by the BBC. Meanwhile, the city’s mayor, Vadim Boychenko, said at least 1,000 civilians were trapped inside the besieged factory. There are some people at the crossroads of ‘life and death’.
