The situation in Mariupol deteriorates. So far, Ukraine cannot achieve a positive outcome there. Its military takes care of wounded people. The combatants with their backs protect ordinary civilians from the occupiers, and they lose their lives in this fight.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, announced this at a briefing dedicated to the President of the European Council Charles Michel’s visit to Kyiv.
It is no coincidence that I say “defending with their backs” because behind our fellow combatants in Mariupol, according to my data, there are 1,000 people: women and children. And I wish I could say that everything will be easy, and tomorrow we will help the military and civil people in Mariupol, but I can’t say that,“ he said.
Ukraine constantly offers Russia to establish corridors for Mariupol. Occasionally occupiers allowed some people to leave, but they also took thousands of civilians to uncontrolled territory and to the Russian Federation.
“Yes, all our guys in Mariupol want to win; they want to unblock [the city], and no one is going to give up. There are two ways to unblock Mariupol: serious assistance with arms, which we are counting on, and they are counting on it. So far, we do not have enough equipment. The second way is diplomatic. But the Russian Federation does not agree to it,” he said.
He noted that Ukraine is ready for various formats of exchanging its people for Russians. The occupiers left both bodies and wounded [in Ukraine].
“We are ready for any format of exchange. This is as true as [the fact that] I am, whether I want it or not, stand ready for the dialogue during the past three years; I am ready for the dialogue over the end of the war with the Russian president,” he added.
Today the commander of the 36th Marine Brigade, who with the Azov Regiment defends Mariupol, Major Serhiy Volyna appealed to world leaders to apply the extraction procedure to the Mariupol garrison and civilians hiding at the plant. He noted that this may be his last statement, as the defenders “have only a few days or even hours left.”
Ukraine has previously agreed on a humanitarian corridor for today from Mariupol for women, children, and the elderly. Previously, the occupiers not only kept the city under siege but also hampered the centralized evacuation. Departure was possible only by private transport, and not every day.
The mayor of Mariupol urged citizens not to be afraid of evacuation and to leave.
Greece and Turkey offered help in the evacuation from Mariupol. Ex-member of parliament Viktor Medvedchuk, captured by the Security Service of Ukraine, also agreed to be exchanged for the defenders and residents of Mariupol.