On the eve of completing two months, the Ukrainian War passed the mark of five million refugees this Wednesday (20), according to United Nations data.
And the conflict shows no signs of coming to an end. Russia has set a new deadline – Wednesday afternoon, local time – for the surrender of Ukrainian fighters who still hold out in Mariupol.
The pressure on the city in southeastern Ukraine is the symbol of a new phase of the war and makes up what Kiev already calls the Battle of the Donbass, in reference to Moscow’s offensive to seize the two provinces in the east of the country from which it has recognized independence. days before the start of the invasion.
Mariupol is practically in ruins after almost eight weeks under siege by Russian forces, which are now focusing attacks on the last stronghold of the Ukrainians, the steel company Azovstal. According to Kiev, there are hundreds of civilians sheltering there, amid the serious humanitarian crisis that has left the thousands of people who have not yet been able to leave the city without access to water, food and electricity.
“The world watches the murder of children online and remains silent,” Mikhailo Podoliak, adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote in a Twitter post. The post echoes one of the president’s main messages, that the West could do more to react to Moscow and end the conflict.
Despite the Russian ultimatum, which expired at 14:00 (8:00 GMT), there are no signs of surrender on the part of the Ukrainians, repeating what was seen in other previous deadlines imposed by Russia. Ukraine has vowed never to surrender in Mariupol, and its staff said fighting continued at the Azovstal plant.
Amid the threat looming over the city, Kiev announced plans to send 90 buses to evacuate 6,000 civilians from Mariupol on Wednesday.
The attempt is the fruit of what Ukrainian officials have called a “preliminary agreement” with Russia on a humanitarian corridor and is the most important move in that direction in weeks, as previous attempts were thwarted as the two countries traded blame for the failure.
Most of Mariupol’s civilians managed to leave the city in their own vehicles. Tens of thousands more were bused to Russia — what Moscow calls humanitarian action and Kiev calls it illegal forced deportation.
