Ukraine tried on Wednesday to open six evacuation corridors in cities besieged by Russian troops. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereštšuk reported on television this morning that Ukrainian army forces are holding a day-long ceasefire in the area of the evacuation corridors.
He also demanded that Russian troops keep their promises so that evacuations could be organized.
Ukraine reported six humanitarian corridors from one city to another: from Enerhodar to Zaporozhye, from Mariupol to Zaporozhye, Sumy to Poltava, Izjum to Lozova, from Volnovah to Pokrovsky, and from Vorzel, Borodianka, Bucha, Irpin and Kiev to the vicinity of Kiev.
These areas have been the target of hostilities in recent days. The safe routes were to be open from 12 a.m. Wednesday to 9 p.m.
Yet however, late Wednesday afternoon, it was unclear whether the routes had been opened and were safe.
“We don’t have any information on that yet,” said an ICRC spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross Jason Straziuso from the headquarters of the organization in Geneva.
Of the cities to be evacuated, Mariupol (450,000 inhabitants) and Sumy (270,000 inhabitants) are the largest. Mariupol in particular has become scarce. The port city is besieged by Russian forces. The firing has been reported to be severe. Electricity and heating have been cut off at least for some residents. On Sunday, the city’s last telecommunications base station was destroyed.
Read more: Water and electricity cut off in completely blocked Mariupol – Russia could justify destruction of the city on the far right of a voluntary group
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba tweetedthat Russia continued to fire on Wednesday and prevented the evacuation of Mariupol residents.
The ICRC has a team in Mariupol and has reported on the situation.
“The situation there is scary,” Straziuso says. “People are trapped. They have no way out of town. ”
“Families are underground for hours. We have serious concerns about water and food. There are hundreds of thousands of people there. ”
The ICRC previously managed to supply relief supplies to Mariupol. Now they are running out. A secure route is required before more can be sent.
“We’re trying to get it organized with different parties.”
Russia’s previous promises of humanitarian corridors have not been kept either. Attempts have been made to evacuate residents from Mariupol for the fifth day. All plans have been set on fire.
Early in the evening, local authorities said Russian troops were blocking 50 evacuation buses in the village of Stojanka in the Kiev region, south of the cities of Bushan and Irpin.
Only the evacuation route from the city of Sumy seemed to be open. The first convoy of 22 buses arrived in Poltava late Tuesday night.
Among the evacuees were more than a thousand foreign students who had been blocked. According to the Ukrainian presidential office, five thousand civilians were evacuated from Sumy on Tuesday.
According to the BBC The 175-mile journey had taken 12 hours because the buses had to get around the fighting. Among other things, Indian medical students arrived from Sumy. The newcomers were exhausted and nervous.
An Indian woman said she spent most of the last two weeks underground. The water and food had begun to run out, and the students had been hungry. The situation had become more and more frightening day by day. The firing had been continuous.
22 people were killed in Monday’s airstrikes in Sumy. Three of these were children.
Another Ukrainian student interviewed by the BBC wondered if the bags were packed in Sumy on Wednesday, whether to leave or not. Grandparents did not want to leave their home, and their mother had decided to stay.
Some analysts have warned of what will happen after the evacuations. If Ukrainian cities begin to become depopulated, it could lead to more severe airstrikes in Russia.
Director of Doctors Without Borders Stephen Cornish warned against setting a time limit for evacuations. “Not everyone can leave or want to leave. They will be left at the mercy of the extraordinary and arbitrary violence that will be let go and that will affect everyone and everything that remains, ”he said.
Russia has previously proposed opening evacuation routes to the Russian side. Ukraine has not agreed to this.
Civilians treatment in war is provided for in the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. The Geneva Conventions were signed after World War II. The atrocities of the Great War were not to be repeated.
The Swiss International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is responsible for monitoring the agreements. Already during the first two weeks of the war in Ukraine, it has had to remind the parties of the rules of war under international law.
The most important of these is the protection of the civilian population from military operations. Safe escape routes must be guaranteed for people fleeing the fighting.
On Sunday, the ICRC was opening an evacuation route from Mariupol when firing began.
“Attacks on civilians and civilian targets are prohibited, as are summary and disproportionate attacks,” ICRC Director Peter Maurer reminded. “The parties shall make every effort not to place military installations in or near densely populated areas.”
“Civilians must be allowed to seek refuge.”
Soldiers in violation of the Geneva Conventions can be convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity or even genocide. Political leaders and heads of state have also been charged and sentenced to tens of years in prison for violating them.
ICRC has recalled that evacuations will not succeed unless Russia and Ukraine also agree on the details: exact times and vehicle routes.
The infrastructure of societies must be protected: hospitals, schools, water utilities, electricity generation. Russia has reportedly fired at least one school and one university in Ukraine. According to the ICRC, cyber attacks against such targets are also prohibited.
The wounded and sick must be cared for regardless of who they fought for. It must be possible to pick up the dead. Prisoners of war must be treated with respect and protected from public ridicule. The ICRC referred names, pictures and videos of prisoners of war published on social media.
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