Fresh efforts by Ukraine to rescue civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol were hampered after Russian forces allegedly blocked buses and stole humanitarian aid, but The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was hopeful evacuations would still begin on Friday.
Ukrainian deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Russian soldiers blocked a convoy of 45 buses that had headed towards Mariupol on Thursday to evacuate people after Moscow had agreed to a limited cease-fire and to open a humanitarian corridor.
