The situation around Mariupol remains a priority for the Ukrainian military and political leadership and diplomats, said Oleksiy Arestovich, adviser to the head of the presidential office.
"The most difficult situation is now in Mariupol, near Mariupol. There the Russians are simply demolishing the city from the face of the earth. Our military has successes there, yesterday they made another attempt to break through Mariupol with armored vehicles, they took prisoners. But the question is that for this the Russians are demolishing the city simply. More than 2.5 thousand dead, this is according to the official reports of the local authorities, as far as I understand. And this is a disaster that the world has not properly assessed. Now the President of Ukraine has designated for himself, for the third day now, Mariupol as the number one topic. And the head of the Office, and the president, and all our diplomacy is making great efforts: raised everyone, and the churches, and international organizations, and other leaders of the leading countries of the world, "- said Arestovich on the air of the telethon on Monday.
He also clarified that the humanitarian convoy planned for Sunday for Mariupol could not be delivered.
At the same time, about 50 units of Russian equipment, which was part of a convoy of 200 units, were destroyed near Melitopol.
"According to preliminary data, verified, more than 50 units of equipment were destroyed. Not 200, as initially reported - the column itself was 200. And when we looked at how much was destroyed - about a quarter, 50. But this is really a lot," emphasized Arestovich.
He also specified that the next round of negotiations, scheduled for Monday, would be held in video format.
