An adviser to the mayor’s office in the city of Mariupol says that civilians are at last able to get out of the city through an evacuation corridor — and head towards the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is under Ukrainian control.
The official, Petro Andriushchenko, said that as of 1 p.m. local time (7 a.m. ET) “we have confirmation of the ceasefire regime” on an evacuation corridor for “private transport along the route: Mariupol – Melekine – Portovske – Mangush – Berdiansk – Zaporizhzhia.”
Berdiansk is under Russian control.
“As of now, more than 50 private cars have already passed Berdiansk and are moving towards Zaporizhzhia,” the official added.
Andruishchenko cautioned: “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.”
Mariupol’s city council says that this green corridor is half-official and they don’t guarantee the safety of people who decide to use it. Moreover, only the people who have personal vehicles can use it. This corridor is not for buses.
According to the city council, 160 cars got out of Mariupol and passed Berdyansk. The latest information about it was at 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET).
Mariupol has a population of some 400,000. It’s not known how many people left ahead of the Russian invasion and encirclement of the city.
The city has suffered extensive devastation and Ukrainian authorities say more than 2,500 people have been killed.