Kyiv: Russia pushed for a crucial early victory in its new eastern offensive Wednesday, pressuring the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the besieged port city of Mariupol to surrender as its forces sought to advance in the Donbas industrial heartland.
Ukraine will focus its humanitarian efforts in eastern Ukraine on launching an evacuation corridor out of Mariupol, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced on Telegram. Authorities also hope to send 90 buses to evacuate 6,000 civilians out of Mariupol on Wednesday.An evacuation column, typically made up of vehicles, is expected to move toward Zaporizhzhia via Berdyansk, allowing only women, children and the elderly to evacuate.
According to the latest figures by UNHCR, more than a tenth of its pre-war population, has fled the country. More than half of the refugees arrived in Poland since the beginning of the Russian invasion, with hundreds of thousands reaching neighboring countries of Romania and Moldova.
The US on Wednesday, sent another batch of combat aid to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia.Since Biden assumed Presidency, the US has provided a total of $3.2 billion to Ukraine and has deployed more than 1,00,000 troops to countries that are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. It has also sent $2.6 billion in security assistance. The US is the largest supplier to Ukraine among all the 30 nations that are providing arms and ammunition amid the Russian invasion.