Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 20 Mar 2022, 09:20 pm Print
Mariupol UNI/Xinhua/ People rest at a temporary settlement site near Mariupol, Ukraine, March 17, 2022
Moscow/UNI/Sputnik: Up to 130,000 civilians are being held hostage by Ukrainian nationalists in Mariupol, the head of the Russian National Defense Control Center, Mikhail Mizintsev, said on Sunday.
"According to our information, up to 130,000 civilians and 184 foreign citizens from six countries are currently held hostage in the city," he said.
Over the past three days, the Russian troops helped evacuate 59,304 people, including 139 foreign citizens, from the besieged city to Russia, he added.
On Sunday, Russia evacuated more than 16,000 people, out of which 2,000 are children, from the areas of hostilities in Ukraine and the Donbas republics without Kiev's assistance, Mizintsev said.
In total, since the start of the military operation, 330,686 people, including 68,983 children, were evacuated, according to the officer.
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