Agreement on 8 Evacuation Routes for Ukrainian Civilians... "Excluding the Battleground Mariupol"

On the 3rd (local time), an apartment complex in the city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine was indiscriminately bombed by Russian forces, causing flames to rise. The Russian military is reported to be surrounding the strategic stronghold of Mariupol and conducting concentrated bombings on key facilities such as railways.

On the 21st (local time), Russia and Ukraine agreed to open eight "humanitarian corridors" to evacuate civilians from cities surrounded by Russian forces, but the heavily contested city of Mariupol was reportedly excluded.

According to major foreign media on the day, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced that they had agreed with Russia to open eight humanitarian corridors.

She added that attempts to deliver humanitarian aid to Mariupol have continued to fail.

Since Russian forces encircled Mariupol on the 1st of this month, they have been launching attacks for three full weeks.

Earlier, on the 20th, Russian forces issued a final ultimatum to the Ukrainian troops in Mariupol to surrender immediately. They notified that humanitarian corridors would be established on the east and west sides of Mariupol on the 21st, urging them to lay down arms and leave the city. However, the Ukrainian government rejected the offer, expressing their determination to fight to the death.

Mariupol is a strategic point connecting the eastern pro-Russian rebel-held territories and the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia forcibly annexed from Ukraine in 2014, making it a top strategic objective for Russian forces since the beginning of the conflict.