The Ukrainian government says Russian troops have blocked 45 buses sent to evacuate civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol, and only 631 people managed to escape the siege by private transport, according to the Associated Press.
Twelve Ukrainian trucks managed to deliver humanitarian aid to Mariupol, but the cargo was seized by Russian troops, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk said last night.
Ukrainian officials say tens of thousands of people have fled Mariupol in recent weeks through humanitarian corridors, with the city’s population shrinking from pre-war 430,000 to nearly 100,000 last week.
Vereshchuk said nearly 45,000 Mariupol residents had been forcibly deported to Russia and areas in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists.