More than 3,000 people have fled the Mariupol region in buses and private cars, Ukrainian authorities have announced, as the Red Cross, after an initial failure, prepares a new attempt to evacuate the besieged and devastated port city on Saturday. . On the 37th day of the invasion of Ukraine decided by Moscow which caused thousands of civilian and military deaths, the Russian forces loosened their grip on kyiv and Cherniguiv and regroup to concentrate on the east of the country, where they will face a seasoned Ukrainian army, which portends a “protracted” conflict, which could last for months, the Pentagon has warned.
kyiv accused of having struck in Russia
The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region on Friday accused Ukraine of carrying out a dawn helicopter attack on what he described as an “oil depot” in the town about 40 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The Kremlin considered that this incident would not “create the appropriate conditions for the continuation of negotiations”. The Ukrainian side did not formally deny it, but suggested “sabotage”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later told US channel Fox News: “I’m sorry, I’m not discussing my orders as Commander-in-Chief.”
Evacuations of residents of Mariupol
More than 3,000 people fled the Mariupol region, by bus and private cars, in the direction of Zaporozhye, the Ukrainian authorities announced. Most left from Berdyansk. On the other hand, the Red Cross announced that the team sent to Mariupol had to turn back, its plan to evacuate thousands of civilians from this city besieged by Russian forces being “impossible”. A new attempt will take place on Saturday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Emmanuel Macron to try “to obtain from Russia the necessary conditions for a humanitarian operation” in this city, during a new interview, said the French presidency.
Ceasefire mission in Moscow for a UN leader
The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Britain’s Martin Griffiths, will be in Moscow on Sunday to try to secure a “humanitarian ceasefire” in Ukraine, the UN chief announced on Friday. Antonio Guterres.
“He will be in Moscow on Sunday and after he will go to kyiv,” the UN Secretary General told some journalists, recalling that he had recently given him the mission of “seeking a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine. “.
Resumption of talks
Russian-Ukrainian talks aimed at ending the conflict resumed Friday via videoconference, according to Kremlin negotiator Vladimir Medinsky. “Our positions on Crimea and Donbass have not changed,” he said, referring to two Ukrainian regions, one which Russia annexed in 2014 and the other which is partially under the control of pro-Russian separatists.
Ukraine is still waiting for a “real response to the proposals that were made in Istanbul” earlier this week, noted for his part the head of diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba. kyiv had in particular proposed the neutrality of Ukraine and to renounce joining NATO, provided that its security was guaranteed by other countries against Russia.
In the military field
The Russians “continue their partial withdrawal” from the north of the kyiv region towards the Belarusian border, indicated the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, which denounces looting by Russian soldiers. In this same area, the villages of Sloboda and Lukashivka, south of Chernihiv, were taken over by Ukrainian troops. In the East, “Russian forces have failed to take any territory for 24 hours”, according to the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The Ukrainians claimed to have liberated 11 localities in the Kherson region (south). Two people were killed and two others injured in Russian shelling on Thursday, according to the regional governor. kyiv also announced that it had exchanged 86 of its soldiers for Russians, without specifying the number of the latter.