Mariupol, an important port city in southeastern Ukraine, announced this Sunday a new attempt to evacuate civilians starting at 12:00 pm (local time), after the opening of a humanitarian corridor agreed with Russia was frustrated on Saturday. due to continuous fighting in the area, non-compliance with the temporary ceasefire of which both parties mutually accused each other.
"The evacuation of civilians in Mariupol begins at 12:00 pm," the city council said in its official Telegram account.
The ceasefire will take effect between 10:00 am and 9:00 pm (local time), according to the head of the Donetsk regional military administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko.
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Eduard Basurin, head of the Russian army in separatist-held Donetsk Territory, confirmed that safe passage corridors for residents of Mariupol and the city of Volnovakha would reopen on Sunday.
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The evacuation of the city's population of 450,000 inhabitants will be carried out from three points by municipal buses and, following the planned route, by private transport, following the buses in a column, the City Council said.
Russia and Ukraine had agreed on Saturday a temporary ceasefire in Mariupol and Volnovakha to create a humanitarian corridor, but the evacuation of civilians was suspended after Ukrainian authorities reported Russian bombing.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin escalated his rhetoric on Saturday, describing the sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies against Russia for its invasion as "akin to a declaration of war" and warned that Ukraine may lose its statehood.
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