On Saturday, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelesnskiy indicated that Ukraine expects good news on the evacuation of residents from the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol over the weekend.
“During the peace discussions between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul, our delegation achieved an agreement to offer evacuations,” Oleksiy Arestovych told Ukrainian television.
“I believe that we will hear good news on the evacuation of Mariupol residents today or tomorrow.”
On Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) dispatched a team to guide a convoy of roughly 54 Ukrainian buses and other private vehicles out of the city, but they were forced to turn back due to weather conditions. On Saturday, they planned to try again.
Mariupol has been Moscow’s principal aim in the southeastern region of Donbas since the beginning of Russia’s five-week-old assault. Hundreds of thousands of people are stranded in the city, with limited food and water supplies.
