Currently, the hardest fighting in Ukraine is reported in the east, in the so-called battle for the Donbas. In the port city of Mariupol in the southeast, which has been almost completely destroyed, the situation remains extremely serious. Here, the soldiers besieged in the Azovstal factory are making desperate calls to be rescued and taken to the territory of a third country. The conquest of Mariupol is important for Moscow, as it provides the link between the annexed Crimea and the separatist regions in Donbas. Ukraine has reached an agreement with Russia on the creation of a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from the city, the first in five days. Children, women and the elderly could be evacuated through the humanitarian corridor, and the established route is the city of Zaporozhye. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has denounced Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine and called on the parties to end fighting for a four-day humanitarian break on Orthodox Easter. On Wednesday, the West sent a message of support for Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv by European Council President Charles Michel. „History will not forget war crimes” in Ukraine, he said. More than five million Ukrainians have fled the country since the start of the Russian, according to new figures released by the United Nations on Wednesday. In another move, also on Wednesday, the Russian and Belarusian players, including Daniil Medvedev, were banned from the 2022 edition of the Wimbledon tennis tournament, in response to the attack on Ukraine, the organizers of the competition announced.
