Ukraine: More than 170 civilians evacuated from Azovstal and Mariupol area in third safe passage operation

After weeks of living largely underground with dwindling food, water and medicine, more than 170 civilians from Azovstal and the Mariupol area arrived in Zaporizhzhia on Sunday in the third safe passage operation coordinated by the ICRC, the parties to the conflict and the United Nations.

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After weeks of living largely underground with dwindling food, water and medicine, more than 170 civilians from Azovstal and the Mariupol area arrived in Zaporizhzhia on Sunday in the third safe passage operation in recent days coordinated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the parties to the conflict and the United Nations.

“Our teams are here in Zaporizhzia where a third humanitarian convoy where the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN just arrived with more than 170 people from Azovstal and the Mariuopl area after weeks of seeking shelter from heavy fighting,” said Chris Hanger, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross from the convoy’s arrival point in Zaporizhzhia on Sunday. “This is the third safe passage operation within a week and it’s a life-changing moment and a major relief for those who have suffered the horrors of close combat.”

The four-day operation started on 5 May and included evacuating 51 civilians from Azovstal. Others came from the Mariupol area. One of the civilians in the convoy, Nina, said: “We do not believe we got there, that we managed to do this. So many people made an effort to reach such results...It was really a green corridor, from start to finish…They were worrying together with us and felt everything that was going on. No one person felt abandoned.”

This latest safe passage followed two operations in which about 500 people were evacuated from Azovstal and the Mariupol area to Zaporizhzhia on May 3 and May 4. Since March, the ICRC has helped facilitate the safe passage of more than 10,000 civilians from Sumy and Mariupol to other locations in Ukraine.

“This series of safe passage operations have helped over 600 civilians out of Azovstal and the Mariupol area get to safety,” said Hanger. “We will continue our work to help people who are trapped in between hostilities wherever they are.”

For more information, please contact:

Crystal Wells (English), ICRC Geneva, +41 79 642 80 56, cwells@icrc.org

Jesus Serrano Redondo (Spanish, English, French), ICRC Geneva, +41 79 275 6993, jserranoredondo@icrc.org

Shot List

00.00	Departure of convoy from Bezimenne
00.08	Christoph Hanger, ICRC: “I’m Chris from the ICRC. Our teams are here in Zaporizhzhia where a third humanitarian convoy of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN just arrived with more than 170 people from Azovstal and the Mariupol area after weeks of seeking shelter from heavy fighting. This is the third safe passage operation within a week and it’s a life-changing moment and a major relief for those who have suffered the horrors of close combat. This series of safe-passage operations has helped over 600 civilians from Azovstal and the Mariupol area to get to safety. We will continue our work to help people who are trapped in between hostilities wherever they are.”
00.44	People going out of Red Cross buses in in Zaporizhzhia
01.01	Young girl and woman in wheelchair near buses.
01.22	Nina : “What had you to come through when you don’t have house, when you have nothing. You have nothing to put on. We had to escape in our bathrobes.”
01.41	Nina : “Now it’s like a fairytale. We still do not believe that we got there, that we managed to do this. So many people made effort to reach such results. Now we are happy.”
01.55	Nina : “People have done such a great job. It was a really green corridor. We saw how they were worrying, how they organized from the very beginning. Everything was at top level – from start to finish, now we are brought here… They were worrying together with us and felt everything that was going on. No one person was abandoned. 2
02.24	Nina : “The most terrifying thing is when a person has nowhere to return. There is no job.”
02.31	Tell please who did you get there ? How was it?
02.34	Yulia : « It was difficult to get there, everything was very difficult. Very difficult. The route was hard.”
02.48	Please tell what does this green corridor mean for you?
02.50	Yulia : “It’s the hope for something better.”
02.54	End