Mariupol’s residents finally leave besieged city

Kyiv, March 14 : An adviser to the mayor’s office in the city of Mariupol on Monday said the civilians have finally been able to get out of the besieged city through an evacuation corridor towards Zaporizhzhia, which is under Ukrainian control. CNN quoted Petro Andriushchenko, an official, as saying that as of 1 pm (local time) “we have confirmation of the ceasefire regime” on an evacuation corridor for “private transport along the route: Mariupol – Melekine – Portovske – Mangush – Berdiansk – Zaporizhzhia.” He said, “As of now, more than 50 private cars have already passed Berdiansk and are moving towards Zaporizhzhia. “As of now, there are no difficulties in passing checkpoints” but “we cannot officially guarantee security on this corridor. But this is the only corridor that has official approval and that actually works today. However, it remains unclear as to how many people have left Mariupol, which has a population of about 400,000, CNN reported. More than 2,500 people have been killed in Mariupol so far. Meanwhile, the pregnant woman who was injured in last week’s hospital bombing has succumbed to her injuries, the surgeon treating her said. The surgeon, Timur Marin, said, “While she was being resuscitated and the anti-shock measures were being taken, we performed a caesarean section and took a child with no signs of life. The child’s resuscitation for more than half an hour did not work. Resuscitation of the mother for half an hour or more — without any results. They both died.” RNJ