Ukraine is planning to make a new attempt to deliver supplies to civilians trapped in the encircled city of Mariupol on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
She announced as Vitaliy Koval, the governor of the northern region of Rivne, said the death toll from a Russian airstrike on a television tower in his region of Rivne, said the death toll from a Russian airstrike on a television tower in his region on Monday had risen to at least 19.
On Monday, Moscow has allowed the first convoy of civilians to escape Mariupol, but a senior presidential aide said Russia had again blocked a humanitarian aid convoy trying to reach the city with supplies.
Primary demand to obtain a safe passage for aid to reach Mariupol and civilians to leave. Earlier attempts at a local ceasefire in the area have failed.
At the same time, Vereshchuk said a convoy with humanitarian supplies would head for Mariupol on Tuesday. “On the way back, it will pick up women and children,” she said.
Moreover, civilians have been trapped in the southern port city by Russian shelling for more than two weeks and have been without heating, electricity, and running water for most of the time, the Ukrainian authorities stated.
According to the local officials, a convoy of over 160 cars left the city on Monday, but many more residents remain in Mariupol. On the other hand, Russia is stating that it does not target civilians.
The officials further stated that over 2,500 residents had been killed in Mariupol since the Russian invasion on February 24. Ukraine hoped altogether to open nine “humanitarian corridors” on Tuesday, Vereshchuk said.
The regional governor of Sumy in eastern Ukraine Sumy governor said the evacuation of civilians was again underway in his region.