The Red Cross said it hoped to lead an evacuation of thousands of civilians from Mariupol on Friday but needed concrete agreements on where fleeing residents would be escorted to.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had a team of three cars and nine staff heading towards the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol from Zaporizhzhia, more than 200 kilometres away.
The ICRC said its vehicles would lead the convoy out of the city, which has been under intense Russian bombardment, but said it was not yet certain that the operation could go ahead.
“This effort has been, and remains, extremely complex. There are a lot of moving parts and not all of the details are yet in place to ensure that this happens in a safe manner,” ICRC spokesman Ewan Watson told reporters in Geneva.
“We remain hopeful, we are in action, moving towards Mariupol. That is obviously a good thing. But it’s not yet clear that this will happen today.
“If and when it does happen, the ICRC role as a neutral intermediary will be to lead the convoy out from Mariupol to another city in Ukraine. We’re unable to confirm which city at the moment.
“This is something the parties must agree to.”
Previous attempts to evacuate residents have collapsed, though some have made the dangerous dash to freedom alone.
– ‘Horrendous’ civilian suffering –
The ICRC would use their vehicles as a humanitarian protection marker to remind all sides of the non-military nature of the operation, he said.
Watson said 54 buses, and many more civilian vehicles, containing thousands of people seeking to flee the city, were expected to take part in the convoy.
However, “In order for us to start leading civilians out at the top of that convoy, we will need to have assurances that the route we are taking is safe,” said Watson, adding: “We’ll need to know where we’re going.”
Also, there must be the “voluntary consent of the people concerned”, Watson said.
Following the invasion on February 24, Russian forces have encircled and relentlessly bombarded Mariupol to try to capture the strategic city.
Much of the city has now been reduced to rubble, with tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside with little food, water or medicine.
“We are running out of adjectives to describe the horrors that residents in Mariupol have suffered. The situation is horrendous and deteriorating,” said Watson.
“It’s now a humanitarian imperative that people be allowed to leave and aid supplies be allowed in.”
However, the ICRC said it had not received permission to bring aid into Mariupol on Friday to help civilians still surviving in the city.
The organisation had two trucks filled with food, medicine and relief items but they remained behind in Zaporizhzhia.
“Time is running out for the people of Mariupol. They are desperately in need of assistance,” said Watson.
