Red Cross evacuation convoy to Ukraine’s besieged Mariupol forced to turn around
- The team sought to lead over 50 buses and some private vehicles out of the city, but found it ‘impossible to proceed’; staff will try again on Saturday
- Up to 170,000 people in Mariupol are without power and have limited food, according to the mayor.
A Red Cross convoy travelling to the besieged Ukrainian port of Mariupol turned around because it had become impossible to proceed with its mission to begin evacuating civilians on Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.
“They will try again on Saturday to facilitate the safe passage of civilians from Mariupol,” the ICRC said in a statement.
It said the convoy returned to Zaporizhzhia northwest of the southern port “after arrangements and conditions made it impossible to proceed”.
Mariupol has been encircled since the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24. A previous attempt by the Red Cross to reach it in early March failed because the route was found to be unsafe.
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Mariupol residents struggle for survival as Russian siege of Ukrainian port city continues
The Red Cross team of three cars carrying nine staff members had aimed to lead a convoy of about 54 Ukrainian buses and a number of private vehicles out of the city, where up to 170,000 people are without power and have limited food, according to the mayor.
