Ukraine’s deputy prime minister has told Sky News that 50,000 remain trapped in Mariupol.
Iryna Vereshchuk said that only a fraction of those expected to be evacuated from the besieged city yesterday made it out.
“How many people do you think are still stuck in Mariupol?” I asked her.
“At least 50,000 people who want to leave Mariupol,” she said.
“The mission is not accomplished. We opened the green corridor for thousands of people. And we expected at least 5,000 people. But we have only 79 people. This is what Russia does.”
She was speaking from a reception centre in the eastern city of Zaporizhzhia where evacuees from Russian occupied parts of Ukraine arrive.