Mariupol needs ‘full evacuation,’ mayor pleas as Russian forces tighten hold on city
Global News
Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russian troops had "liberated" Mariupol, despite a contingent of Ukrainian fighters holding out in the Azovstal steel complex.
The mayor of Mariupol appealed on Friday for the “full evacuation” of the devastated southern Ukrainian city which President Vladimir Putin says is now controlled by Russian forces.
“We need only one thing – the full evacuation of the population. About 100,000 people remain in Mariupol,” Mayor Vadym Boichenko said on national television.
Boichenko, who is no longer in Mariupol, did not provide any update on any fighting in or around the port city on the Sea of Azov.
The mayor told Reuters on Thursday that Putin alone can decide the fate of the civilians still trapped in Mariupol, scene of the worst humanitarian crisis of the war in Ukraine that began on Feb. 24.
Putin said on Thursday that Russian troops had “liberated” Mariupol, which would make it the biggest city to fall into Russian hands since the start of what Moscow calls a “special military operation.”
But a contingent of Ukrainian fighters are still holding out in the underground bunkers of the Azovstal steel complex, alongside hundreds of civilians in desperate conditions, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Despite Boichenko’s appeal, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Ukraine was not attempting to establish any humanitarian corridors for civilians on Friday “due to the danger on the routes.”
“To all those waiting to be evacuated: be patient, please hold on!” she wrote on Facebook.
This year, the toy drive will support nearly 200 Ukrainian children in the Central Okanagan.
The choice of Trump's former acting attorney general Matt Whitaker is an unusual one, given his background in law enforcement and not in foreign policy or diplomacy.
Israel has continued to pound Hezbollah throughout the cease-fire attempts, and rockets have continued to rain down on northern Israel.
The precautionary step came after Russian officials promised a response to President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets on Russian soil with U.S.-made missiles.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recognized González in a post on X in which he also demanded “respect for the will” of Venezuelan voters.
Officials were worried the hamsters would target the plane's electrical wiring system.
Marius Borg Høiby is facing yet another charge after a slew of accusations in recent months.
Uranium enriched at 60 per cent purity is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent, according to the UN report.
The alleged developments marked a worrying new escalation in the conflict that has repeatedly ratcheted up international tensions.
The foreign ministries of Finland and Germany said that the damage raised suspicion of sabotage.
Putin’s endorsement of the new nuclear deterrent policy comes on the 1,000th day after he sent troops into Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022.