According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the situation in southern Ukraine and in the eastern Donbass region remains extremely difficult. He reiterated last night that Russia is strengthening its forces near the besieged city of Mariupol. “There will still be fights. We still have to walk a very difficult path to achieve everything we want.”
For today, Moscow announced an evacuation campaign for the port city. A humanitarian corridor to Zaporizhia, 220 kilometers away, will “reopen” at 10:00 a.m. (local time, 9:00 a.m. CEST), the Defense Ministry in Moscow said today. The measure follows a “personal appeal” by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and French President Emmanuel Macron to Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin.
“To ensure the success of this humanitarian action, it is proposed to be carried out with the direct participation of representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),” the statement said. The ICRC had previously said it was ready to “manage” the evacuation operation from Mariupol provided it received guarantees on the security situation.
City Commander: Better situation in Kyiv
In Kyiv, on the other hand, according to the city commandant, the situation is likely to have eased somewhat. “Thanks to the steadfast defense and heroic actions of our troops, the situation around the city is improving,” General Mykola Schyrnov said in a published statement. However, fighting continues in the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital.
Schyrnow emphasized that civil infrastructure was being restored, affecting companies as well as commercial and service facilities. “The Ukrainian military and branches of the State Rescue Service are cleaning and demining the liberated areas,” Zhyrnov said. Despite the progress, he called on the population to exercise caution. Airborne alert signals should continue to be heeded.