The pro-Russian rebels say they already control the center of Mariupol

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MADRID, 7 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine have assured that they already control the center of the city of Mariúpol, located on the shores of the Azov Sea and under constant siege for weeks with the declared objective of creating a land corridor between Crimea and Donbas.

The spokesman for the Donetsk militias, Eduard Basurin, has stated that in the central part of Mariupol “the battles are over”. Now the clashes would have moved to other areas, including the port, as he explained in an interview on Russian television.

Basurin has estimated that some 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers are still stationed in Mariupol and has assumed that many civilians are also involved in the defense of this city, reports the Interfax news agency.

Local authorities estimate that some 100,000 people remain trapped in Mariúpol, where the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is still unable to access due to lack of security guarantees to evacuate civilians and bring humanitarian aid.