Live: ‘Hellscape’ in Mariupol where 100,000 trapped, Biden heads to Europe

Issued on: 23/03/2022 – 07:43

09:06 am: Nine humanitarian corridors agreed for Wednesday: Ukrainian deputy PM

Agreement has been reached to try to evacuate civilians trapped in Ukrainian towns and cities through nine “humanitarian corridors” on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

Signalling no agreement had been reached with Russia to establish a safe corridor form the heart of Mariupol, she said people wishing to leave the besieged port city would find transport in nearby Berdyansk.

08:04 am: Local ceasefire agreed for Luhansk, says governor

The governor of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine said agreement had been reached on a local ceasefire to evacuate civilians trapped by fighting. Governor Serhiy Gaidai said on the Telegram messaging app that the ceasefire would come into force at 9 am.

01:34 am: March 22: Kyiv residents, businesses coordinate aid and self-defence as fighting consumes suburbs

Entrepreneur Dmytro Tymoshenko has turned his paint company into a force for Kyiv’s self-preservation. His facilities are now producing their own bulletproof vests as well as serving as a hub for distribution of medicine and other humanitarian aid. FRANCE 24’s James Andre, Jonathan Walsh and Oleksiy Gordieiev report from the Ukrainian capital:

11:22 pm: Zelensky says talks with Russia tough but ‘moving forward’; 100,000 still trapped in Mariupol

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said early Wednesday that peace talks with Russia to end the war were tough and sometimes confrontational but added “step by step we are moving forward”.

In his nightly video address, Zelensky also said 100,000 people were living in the besieged city of Mariupol in inhuman conditions, without food, water or medicine.

Zelensky said more than 7,000 people had escaped in the last 24 hours, but one group travelling along an agreed humanitarian route west of the city were “simply captured by the occupiers”.