Russia blocked Mariupol, only 7,144 people evacuated from Ukrainian cities: Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Almost 40,000 people left a number of cities through humanitarian corridors on Thursday (March 10), on top of the 35,000 who fled on Wednesday. Friday number of 7,144 is sharply low in comparison to the earlier couple of days

Kyiv: For Ukranians getting out of their war-torn country is becoming tough. In a televised address on Friday (March 11),  President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said only 7,144 people were evacuated from four Ukrainian cities on Friday. This is a sharply lower number than compared to those who managed to leave in each of the two previous days. Zelenskyy accused Russia of refusing to allow people out of the besieged city of Mariupol and said Ukraine would try again to deliver food and medicines there on Saturday.

Almost 40,000 people left a number of cities through humanitarian corridors on Thursday, on top of the 35,000 who fled on Wednesday, Ukrainian authorities said, reported Reuters. Those who stayed in the cities of Chernihiv, Energodar, Hostomel and Kozarovichi had managed to escape on Friday, the President said. 

Authorities earlier said the situation in Mariupol was critical as Russian forces tightened their noose around the Black Sea port city and the death toll from shelling and a 12-day blockade reached almost 1,600. Residents of Mariupol, a strategically important city of over 400,000 in peacetime, have been without power or water for more than a week. "Russian troops have not let our aid into the city and continue to torture our people ...tomorrow we will try again, try again to send food, water and medicine," Zelenskyy said.

Mariupol is the site of an intense battle. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said three people including a child had been killed in the bombing on Wednesday. The attack also left more than dozen injured, reports stated. This news sparked criticism worldwide. After an international condemnation of a Russian strike on a hospital in Mariupol and Moscow's claims the building no longer served as a healthcare facility, the Kremlin said it would investigate further. The defence ministry later denied hitting the hospital. But Ukraine President Zelenskyy rejected Russian assertions there had been no patients there. "Like always, they lie confidently," said Zelenskyy, who has accused Moscow of waging genocide in the war it launched two weeks ago.

(With Reuters inputs)