The information published by The Guardian on 1 April about the evacuation of Mariupol residents by the Red Cross turned out to be a fake.
The adviser to the mayor of Mariupol Petro Andryushchenko wrote about it in Telegram.
"It is unknown where they got it from, but we have received full confirmation from all competent persons in Ukraine and the Red Cross that there were no such agreements or reports. This is what happens. Even well-known publishers sometimes spread fakes," Andryushchenko said.
He called on Ukrainians to trust official reports.
As you know, on 1 April the Guardian published information on its website with reference to Reuters that, according to ICRC spokesman Ewan Watson, the authorities of Ukraine and Russia approved the evacuation plan.
According to foreign media reports, 54 buses were involved in the operation; the organization's teams did not receive permission to import humanitarian aid, so they were left without medicine. The destination for the evacuees has not been determined yet, but it will be in Ukraine.
The Ministry of Defense of Russia declared that on 31March from 10 a.m. it announces "silence mode" for evacuation of civilians from Mariupol to Zaporizhia. However, the Ukrainian side did not receive confirmation of this information.
On 1 April, the commander of the Azov Regiment denied the evacuation of the leadership of the defenders of Mariupol.