Ukraine
\nUkraine\u2019s government has beseeched Vladimir Putin to let civilians leave the devastated city of Mariupol as a convoy of 15 buses carrying 1,114 evacuees set off on a tense escape through territory occupied by Russian forces.
\nThe convoy of mainly women and children, escorted by Ukraine\u2019s emergency services, faces a 125-mile journey north-west from Berdyansk, a village on the outskirts of Mariupol, to the city of Zaporizhzhia.
\nThe city council in Mariupol said in a statement that Russian forces had \u201cdestroyed almost 80% of the city\u2019s infrastructure in 22 days, of which 30% can no longer be rebuilt\u201d.
\nThe fate of those inside an art school flattened on Sunday and a theatre targeted four days earlier remains unclear.
\n\u201cMariupol residents are in terrible conditions and are overcoming new challenges every day,\u201d the city council said.
\nUkraine\u2019s deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk appealed to Russia to allow humanitarian supplies into the city and to let civilians leave. \u201cWe demand the opening of a humanitarian corridor for civilians,\u201d she said. Vereshchuk said a convoy of vehicles carrying humanitarian aid had been sent ahead to Zaporizhzhia including flour, food and medical supplies.
\nThe 15 buses of evacuees are part of a wider effort to rescue people through five routes to Zaporizhzhia.
\nShe said: \u201cWe understand that there will not be enough seats for everyone, so please come to the buses in an organised manner, according to the instructions of our representatives in place. We will not leave anyone and we will continue to evacuate daily according to the same algorithm until we take everyone out.\u201d
\nThe local authorities in Zaporizhzhia said they were preparing to receive the evacuated families with \u201cfood, medical and psychological support, as well as resettlement assistance\u201d.
\nBetween 100,000 and 200,000 people remain trapped in Mariupol where people have been living in dire conditions without water, electricity and heating for weeks. Ukraine\u2019s government has defied an ultimatum by the Russian military for its forces to \u201clay down arms\u201d by 5am Moscow time (2am GMT) on Monday in return for humanitarian relief.<\/p>\n
Lyudmila Denisova, Ukraine\u2019s human rights ombudsman, said that on Monday Russian forces had fired on evacuation buses from Mariupol, a strategically important target for President Putin, and that four children had been taken to hospital. She said that as of 8am BST on Tuesday, 117 children had died in the war and more than 155 children had been injured.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ukraine Ukraine\u2019s government has beseeched Vladimir Putin to let civilians leave the devastated city of Mariupol as a convoy of 15 buses carrying 1,114 evacuees set off on a tense escape through territory occupied by Russian forces. The convoy of mainly women and children, escorted by Ukraine\u2019s emergency services, faces a 125-mile journey north-west from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-250788","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n