Convoy of more than 1,000 people reaches Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine -ICRC

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)/Handout via Reuters
People fleeing from Berdiansk ride on buses in a convoy of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine on April 6.

ZURICH (Reuters) – An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team has led a convoy of buses and private cars carrying more than 1,000 people to Zaporizhzhia after the civilians fled the besieged Ukrainian town of Mariupol on their own, the ICRC said on Wednesday.

“This convoy’s arrival to Zaporizhzhia is a huge relief for hundreds of people who have suffered immensely and are now in a safer location. It’s clear, though, that thousands more civilians trapped inside Mariupol need safe passage out and aid to come in,” Pascal Hundt, the ICRC’s head of delegation in Ukraine, said in a statement.

The ICRC has worked in Ukraine since 2014 and has recently brought over 700 tons of medical supplies, food and relief items into the country.