From the Liveblog of
Thursday, March 17, 2022
Zelensky says Russia attacked humanitarian corridors
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Ukrainian President Zelensky says Russia attacked Ukrainian evacuees on Wednesday during his nightly video address.
“Unfortunately, the humanitarian corridors did not work on Wednesday. The Russian military did not stop shelling, did not guarantee security,” he says. “We are ready to take people out and send humanitarian aid, but we can’t expose people to shelling on the road.”
He says 6,000 residents of besieged Mariupol escaped, including over 2,000 children, despite the attacks on the corridors, which caused some injuries, but no fatalities.
“Our hearts are broken by what Russia is doing to our people,” he says. “For the Russian military, there is no war crime which they would not commit.”
He asks Russians, “How is your blockade of Mariupol different from the blockade of Leningrad during World War II?”
He calls on Russian troops to surrender.
“Every Russian soldier will get a chance, a chance to survive. I appeal specifically to the conscripts, who were thrown into the furnace of the war… and to the rest of the Russian soldiers who still have the instinct of self-preservation, lay down your weapons.”
He again pleads for more help from Western leaders.
“How many more people do they have to kill?” he asks. “The world must finally realize that Russia has become a terror state.”
https://www.facebook.com/zelenskiy.official/posts/3032754176974938
The Times of Israel Community.