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The ICRC aid convoy is aimed at evacuating civilians on Friday Ukrainian Deputy PM says 45 buses heading to Mariupol The UN does not have access, but hopes that the ICRC operation will succeed

LVIB, UKRAINE / GENEVA, March 31 (Reuters) – A bus convoy left for the besieged city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine on Thursday to try to deliver humanitarian supplies and evacuate civilians, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Veresh said. Vereshchuk said 45 buses were on their way to Mariupol after the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed that Russia had agreed to open a safe corridor. read more In Geneva, the ICC said its escort was on its way to the city’s port, but called on both sides to agree on precise conditions for the safe passage of civilians. By nightfall she said her two trucks had arrived in the city of Zaporizhzhia with relief supplies and medical supplies. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “For logistical and safety reasons, we will be ready to run the safe passage operation tomorrow, Friday, provided all parties agree to the exact terms, including route, start time and duration,” said his spokesman. ICRC Ewan Watson. “It is desperately important to carry out this operation. The lives of tens of thousands of people in Mariupol depend on it,” he said. In its daily update, the ICRC said that “soldiers on the ground must provide security guarantees and practical arrangements to civilians and humanitarian organizations to allow assistance to those who wish to evacuate safely.” To date in the five-week conflict, the ICC has led to two evacuations of civilians from the northeastern city of Sumy. read more The United Nations has been unable to secure access to Mariupol, Hersonissos and Volnovaka as the safety of aid convoys and civilians could not be guaranteed, said UN spokesman Jens Laerke. “However, if this latest reported commitment from the parties succeeds in providing a period during which civilians can be displaced, we will do everything we can to support those fleeing the violence or remaining in need of urgent assistance,” he told statement to Reuters. The mayor of Mariupol said this week that up to 170,000 residents have been trapped there without electricity and few supplies. “There are 45 buses on their way to Mariupol,” Verestsuk said in a statement on Thursday. The city, which typically has a population of over 400,000, has been a strategic hub for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has been under almost constant bombardment. Repeated attempts to organize safe corridors have failed, with each side blaming the other. Russia denies attacking civilians during its offensive in Ukraine on February 24. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Pavel Polityuk in Lviv and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva. Edited by Timothy Heritage and Alistair Bell Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.