The Red Cross said it was “very difficult” to organize the convoy.

A new attempt to launch an operation to evacuate the civilian population from besieged Mariupol remains in question. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which was set to support the evacuation of residents of the southern city this Friday in the event of an agreement between the parties, says the convoy is “extremely difficult to organize. And has not yet received permission to bring in humanitarian aid.

An ICRC team of three vehicles and nine staff headed to Mariupol, surrounded by Russian forces and under heavy bombardment for weeks. They have permission to move, but say all the details have not yet been specified to guarantee a safe evacuation operation this Friday and hope the conditions will be met “as soon as possible”.

“We are hoping to get to Mariupol, but it is not yet clear if this will happen today,” said Speaker Evan Watson, who assured that organizing the convoy “was and still is very difficult”.

The unit says it is in contact with the parties, but ensuring that everyone “agrees and fully understands all the details, and that they are then delivered to the chain of command and Mariupol residents, is an ongoing challenge. Take time. Sorting. ” In particular, they argue that details such as the exact route, its exact start time and its duration should be specified. “We have to make sure that the ceasefire is in force and that this humanitarian convoy can safely pass through the military checkpoints.”

If that happens, the ICRC ‘s role “as a neutral mediator” would be to move the convoy from Mariupol to another Ukrainian city, which they could not confirm “because that’ s what the parties have to agree on.”

They will lead a convoy of 54 buses, they reportedly, and many other civilian vehicles are expected to join. “Our presence puts a humanitarian mark on the convoy by providing additional protection and reminding all parties of the civil, non-military and humanitarian nature of the operation.

Without a permit to carry humanitarian aid

In addition, at a briefing in Geneva, the spokesman explained that they were not allowed to deliver along with a convoy of humanitarian aid and left without the medical and other supplies they had prepared in the city of Zaporizhia. “Currently we do not have permission to receive assistance, but that is something we will continue to do in the coming days.”

Petro Andriushchenko, the deputy mayor of Mariupol, who did not speak on behalf of the city council, condemned this Friday that Russian forces had “categorically banned the delivery of humanitarian aid, even in small quantities,” to the city. “We do not see the real desire of the Russians to allow the residents of Mariupol to be evacuated to the territory controlled by Ukraine.

Humanitarian conditions in Mariupol, which was the worst scene of the war and where the most basic items for survival are lacking, have raised all alarms in recent weeks. The population lives in conditions of intense fighting, with a shortage of water, food and medical supplies.

“We are going to use adjectives to describe the horrors that the people of Mariupol have experienced. “The situation is dire and deteriorating, and now there is a humanitarian need for people to come out and get supplies,” Watson said.

No official announcements

It is unclear whether the evacuation operation will be able to. So far, major attempts to evacuate civilians to Mariupol by humanitarian aid or by bus have failed amid allegations of a ceasefire violation. An early attempt by the Red Cross in early March failed to reach it as the route was deemed unsafe and the conflict resumed, Reuters reports. The residents managed to leave Mariupol only with their own funds.

Official information about the ICRC-led operation is scarce. In the list of open humanitarian corridors this Friday, which the Ukrainian authorities published later than usual, they only name the route to Mariupol for civilians in their own cars. There have been no official announcements of agreements or Red Cross notifications.

This Thursday, after Russia announced the opening of a humanitarian corridor for a ceasefire, Ukrainian authorities announced their intention to rent dozens of buses and assured them that they would do “everything” to take them to and from the city. People who could not get out of there yet, but finally said that the Russians did not allow these buses to enter Berdyansk, a seaside town and the intermediate point of the route.

Blame Kiev for the failed operation, and Moscow has said it will reopen the humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhia on Friday from 10 a.m. to an intermediate point in Berdyansk.

Russia says the decision was made at the personal request of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin. Macron spoke with Putin on Tuesday, aiming to organize the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol in co-operation with Turkey, Greece, humanitarian organizations and Ukraine. But according to the Elysee, the terms of such an operation “do not currently exist” and that Putin said he would “think about it” before answering.

“The French initiative on humanitarian corridors must be implemented from Mariupol!” Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Twitter in a message on Friday, in which he mentioned “continuous talks” with Macron.

Mariupol is in dire straits after weeks of siege. Mayor Vadim Boichenko said the southern city should be completely evacuated, stressing that about 160,000 people remain in the city. City officials said thousands of people were killed in the attacks and most of the buildings were damaged or destroyed.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that the level of destruction of civilian infrastructure in Mariupol is rising, indicating that according to local authorities, about 2,340 houses have been damaged, of which 1,040 have been completely destroyed. More than 90% of all the city’s hospitals and schools have been damaged and 40% completely destroyed, “severely restricting access to education and health care.”

The civilians who left Mariupol are those who were able to do so by their own means – mostly in private cars and sometimes on foot – either without an agreement to cease hostilities or without leaving safely and passing through Russian checkpoints. Kiev has repeatedly accused Moscow of avoiding a large-scale evacuation operation from the city, of buses and trucks carrying humanitarian aid. The UN reiterates the need for safe corridors for relief and safe evacuation.

The city council says more than 80,000 Mariupol residents have already been evacuated to Zaporozhye, where they arrive mostly by their own cars or by bus from Berdyansk.

According to Ukraine, the Russian military blocked all entrances to the city and blocked the exit from the sea. Western military analysts believe that Russian forces continue to make steady but costly advances in the city, and believe that Russian forces are likely to suffer heavy losses in the battle, but Mariupol is likely to fall in a few days. Located on the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov, Mariupol is a strategic port between annexed Crimea and the separatist pro-Russian territories of Donbas.

Ukraine and Russia agreed for the first time on March 3 to establish humanitarian corridors to secure supplies and aid to trapped civilians from certain areas until hostilities are theoretically suspended temporarily. But its implementation was slow and limited and there were many unsuccessful attempts against the backdrop of allegations of ceasefire violations. Moscow generally blames Kiev for the failure of these operations.