According to the latest estimates, more than one lakh people are still trapped in the port city of Mariupol. Some of them were supposed to be evacuated this morning but the situation is not clear and information is coming slowly.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday morning announced the establishment of a ceasefire in Mariupol to allow the opening of a humanitarian corridor further north in the direction of Zaporizhi. But the situation on the ground is tense.

One of the buildings in Mariupol was completely destroyed. [Alexander Ermochenko – Reuters]

The International Committee of the Red Cross explains to RTS that it has a team – three cars and nine staff members – who are currently traveling from Zaporizhi to Mariupol for an evacuation operation that promises to be very complicated.

“Not all the details are settled to ensure that this happens safely”, states the ICRC which still hopes the evacuation could happen on Friday, even though it is not certain.

When the situation permits, the ICRC, which is supposed to be a neutral mediator, will direct the convoy from Mariupol to another city in Ukraine. As per the latest information from ICRC; There will likely be 54 buses to ferry civilians and possibly as many civilian vehicles.

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Two weeks ago, the ICRC warned: in the absence of a concrete humanitarian agreement, we can expect a disaster scenario in Mariupol. According to the institution, residents are facing an extreme or even total lack of basic necessities: food, water and medicines.

ICRC President Peter Maurer was recently in Ukraine. “The suffering of the Mariupol people should not become the future of Ukraine,” he said.