Evacuations in Mariupol Fail as Fighting Continues, Officials Say
Authorities said an organized evacuation from Mariupol on April 20 did not go as planned, with only a limited number of buses able to reach the city, as fighters continued to hold out against Russian forces at a giant steel plant.
“People of course gathered at the agreed meeting points, but few of them got onto the buses,” Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrlenko told Reuters.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk blamed Russia for the failed operation, citing a failure to control “their own military on the ground.” Vereshchuk said Ukrainian authorities would try again on Thursday.
Footage posted by the Mariupol City Council on Telegram showed a line of buses lined up in Orikhiv, along the route from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, according to officials. Credit: Mariupol City Council via Storyful
Video transcript
[NO SPEECH]
