Zelensky on the unblocking of Mariupol: today we can not pass the occupied 120 km to the city, we are agreeing on humanitarian corridors

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said this in an interview with the French TV channel BFM TV, the video of which was posted on the Telegram channel of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

"According to our army, today the equipment of the Russian Federation does not allow us to pass these occupied 120 km in order to reach the military unblocking of the city of Mariupol. We cannot do this today. Humanitarian corridors - we agree on them and open, and some people leave from there, but those thousands, which I told you about, are still blocked, and so far Russia does not give these people the opportunity to get out of this captivity", Zelensky said.

He added that Ukraine is doing everything possible.

Zelensky emphasized that not only the Ukrainian military, but also civilians are now at Azovstal. Among them are children and the elderly. We are talking about a thousand residents.

"We are doing everything we can. Indeed, they are blocked... Both local people - children and the elderly, and the military are blocked in Mariupol. This is more like a terrorist operation against Mariupol and its residents. Everything is destroyed there,  95-98% of all buildings: schools, kindergartens, residential areas, factories, embankments…", Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The invaders are bombarding the city from aircraft, hitting with artillery and missiles.

Speaking about the forced removal of residents by the invaders, the president said that many simply disappeared.

"They are in different cities, in special camps on Russian territory, and some have simply disappeared. From 2.5 to 5 thousand children who left in that direction have disappeared. Children have disappeared without a trace. This is a terrible tragedy", the President of Ukraine emphasized.

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