Russia claims it will observe ceasefire in Mariupol on Thursday to allow civilians to escape the port city that has been bombed for more than a month by Putin's troops
- Mariupol has been all-but razed by air strikes launched by Moscow's forces
- What was once a bustling port city of 400,000 people now lies in total ruin
- Russia claims it will observe a ceasefire on Thursday to allow civilians to escape
- Previous ceasefires were broken by alleged war criminal Vladimir Putin's troops
By DAVID AVERRE and CHRIS MATTHEWS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 10:18 AEDT, 31 March 2022 | UPDATED: 10:18 AEDT, 31 March 2022
Russia has claimed it will observe a ceasefire in Mariupol to allow civilians to escape the port city, which has been under siege from Putin's troops for more than a month.
The Russian defence ministry announced yesterday that its forces will observe a local ceasefire on Thursday to allow civilians to be evacuated from Mariupol.
The city has been under siege from Russian forces since Putin's invasion of Ukraine started on February 24.
A humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, via the Russian-controlled port of Berdiansk, would be opened from 10am (7am GMT), the ministry said on Wednesday.
'For this humanitarian operation to succeed, we propose to carry it out with the direct participation of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross,' the ministry statement said.
The Russian ministry asked Kyiv to guarantee the 'unconditional respect' for the ceasefire through written notification to the Russian side, the UNHCR and ICRC before 6am (0300 GMT) on Thursday.
The announcement will be met with huge skepticism, after Russian forces on several occasions violated similar ceasefire arrangements and attacked humanitarian corridors from Mariupol and other cities.
Mariupol has been bombed for more than a month by alleged war criminal Vladimir Putin's forces
The city has been under Russian bombardment since Putin's troops invaded Ukraine on February 24
An apartment building destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol
According to the Kremlin, Putin previously said he would only stop bombardment of Mariupol when all Ukrainian troops had surrendered
Dima, a three-year-old boy who was wounded during the shelling of Mariupol, lies in a bed in children's ward of the hospital, in Zaporizhzhia. Britain could send armoured vehicles to help rescue people trapped in the beleaguered city
Moscow also asked the Ukrainian army to commit to ensure the security of the bus convoys along the designated corridor.
The ministry said it had agreed to a proposal from Kyiv to open in the last 24 hours four new humanitarian corridors from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia.
It came as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that Britain could send armoured cars to help evacuate 160,000 citizens still trapped in Mariupol.
Among those that could be sent are the British Army Foxhound armoured vehicle (left) and military Land Rovers (right)
The Prime Minister is considering 'going up a gear' in support for Ukraine and wants to target the 'human catastrophe' in Mariupol.
'The question is, can we help the Ukrainians relieve Mariupol?' he told the Commons liaison committee.
'Would armour, would APCs [armoured personnel carriers] be useful for them [or] armoured Land Rovers? We are certainly looking at that.'
A Government source said later: 'We're open to sending them armoured vehicles if useful and if practicable to get them there, although the view is that will be difficult.
'At a briefing last night it sounded like we're not sure Mariupol can hold out much longer anyway.'
It comes as satellite images emerged yesterday showing a clearly marked Red Cross building with holes in its roof reportedly after Russian airstrikes.
According to the Kremlin, Putin previously said he would only stop bombardment of the city when all Ukrainian troops had surrendered.
While relief efforts stumbled, 70 women and medics were reportedly kidnapped from a bombed maternity hospital in Mariupol and taken to Russia.
The Azov regiment says Russian occupiers deliberately targeted a building of the International Red Cross
Boris Johnson told the Commons liaison committee he is considering 'going up a gear' in support for Ukraine
Mariana Vishegirskaya stands outside a maternity hospital that was damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Damaged buildings are seen as civilians are being evacuated along humanitarian corridors from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol under the control of Russian military and pro-Russian separatists, on March 26, 2022
Mariupol has been all-but razed by Moscow's forces, and the shocking aerial video shows the sheer scale of the destruction of what was a picturesque port city home to 400,000 people before Putin's invasion on February 24.
Now, more than 20,000 of the city's residents have been taken 'against their will' to Russia, where their identity documents were confiscated and before they were moved 'to Russian cities far away,' the mayor's office said on its Telegram channel.
'More than 70 people, women and medical personnel from maternity hospital No. 2 from the left bank district were taken by force by the occupiers,' the office said.
Just one building seemingly remains unscathed amongst the rubble - the city's stunning Russian orthodox Cathedral (pictured at the top of this still image from drone footage)
Russian forces have encircled the city and their steady and indiscriminate bombardment has killed at least 5,000 people, but possibly as many as 20,000, according some estimates
Pictured: Aerial drone footage shows destroyed buildings in Mariupol stretching as far as the eye can see. Yesterday, Kyiv accused Russian forces of striking a Red Cross facility in the city
Pictured: A still from drone footage released by Ukraine's military showing a red cross building damaged Russian airstrikes
The footage shows the ruins of the city's theatre that was destroyed in an airstrike on March 16. At the time, it was being used as a civilian shelter, and was attacked despite the word 'children' being written in large letters outside. As many as 300 are feared dead
Mariupol has been all-but razed by Moscow's forces, with the shocking aerial video (pictured) showing the sheer scale of the destruction of what was a picturesque port city home to 400,000 people before Putin's invasion on February 24
The information could not be independently verified as Mariupol has been under a month-long siege and intense bombardment, with communication largely cut off.
Another maternity hospital in Mariupol was struck by Russian bombardment on March 9, sparking international condemnation.
At least three people including one child died in the attack.
Russian officials both dismissed the attack as being staged by Ukraine and justified it by claiming the hospital was being used by extremist Ukrainian forces and that all medical personnel and patients had long been gone.
Why is Mariupol so strategically important?
LOCATION
Mariupol is the biggest Ukrainian city on the Sea of Azov, which is connected to the Black Sea by the narrow Kerch Strait. The city takes its name from Maria Feodorovna, the wife of Russian Emperor Alexander III, and lies about 70 km (43 miles) from the border with Russia.
It is also a few kilometres from territories of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia-backed separatists who have been fighting Ukrainian government forces since 2014.
Mariupol's capture could enable Russia to create a land bridge between two separatist, self-proclaimed people's republics in Donbas and the Crimea region which Russia seized and annexed in 2014.
Capturing Mariupol would also give Russia control of the Ukrainian coast on the Sea of Azov as it also tries to cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea. Russian forces have already seized the Black Sea port of Kherson about 380 km from Mariupol and Russia controls Crimea's Black Sea ports.
ECONOMIC ROLE
Mariupol is important role for Ukraine's economy as the port is used to export iron, steel, grain and heavy machinery, a significant source of income for the Ukrainian government.
A senior industry official said on March 21 that Ukraine faced a possible grain revenue loss of $6 billion because of Russia's blockade of ports including Mariupol.
Mariupol is also home to the Illich Iron and Steel Works, the second largest metallurgical enterprise in Ukraine, and to the Azovstal iron and steel works, one of the biggest steel rolling companies in the country.
Mariupol has deeper berths than other Ukrainian ports in the region. Controlling it could help Russia ship equipment, goods and personnel more quickly and easily between Russia, Donbas and Crimea.
DAVID AND GOLIATH
Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, with leaders portraying the outgunned defenders as heroes fighting an uneven battle similar to the Biblical struggle between David and Goliath.
Mariupol would be the first major Ukrainian city to fall to the Russian invaders. Losing it would be a potentially heavy psychological blow that dents Ukrainian morale.
By contrast, it could lift the mood in Russia and be held up by President Vladimir Putin as an important victory in a war that Western military experts say has largely struggled to achieve its objectives.
Russia has vilified the Azov Battalion, a far-right militia that is part of Ukraine's National Guard and has been helping defend Mariupol.
One of the declared goals of Putin's 'special operation' was to 'denazify' Ukraine. Western leaders say that was a baseless pretext for an unjustified war, but Putin would be likely to hold up a defeat of the Azov Battalion, or the capture of any if its fighters, as a milestone.
Western leaders say that was a baseless pretext for an unjustified war, but Putin would be likely to hold up a defeat of the Azov Battalion, or the capture of any if its fighters, as a milestone.
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Russia claims it will observe ceasefire in Mariupol on Thursday to allow civilians to escape
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