The Greek convoy passed by fire and iron from Mariupol to Zaporizhia in Ukraine , where it arrived on Wednesday night.
The Greek convoy, which includes 21 cars with 82 expatriates, members of the Greek consulate and journalists, started from the Consulate General of Mariupol, with the aim of escaping from the war zone and taking refuge in safe territory.
During its course, the Greek convoy came under fire from strangers, passed through battlefields, while it was also confronted with barrels as it “fell” on a barracks of Russian tanks. Negotiations were held with the Russians in order for the 82 Greeks to continue their journey, who finally arrived safely in Zaporizhia.
The march will continue west, with the aim of the convoy to cross the border with Moldova. .
Shocking testimonies of Greek journalists
Greek journalists described the shocking moments they experienced on the way from Mariupol to Zaporizhia.
The war correspondent of Open Sotiris Danezis reported that the first cars of the phalanx were hit.
“We started at 11 in the morning with more than 40 cars mainly with women and small children from Mariupol. “As soon as we passed the exit of Mariupol, we fell into a barrage of Russian tanks, with the soldiers holding their arms outstretched and marking us,” he described.
Then there were negotiations with the Russians , with the convoy continuing its course, but at one point it had to enter a dirt road and there “the first cars came under fire; we had to make a U-turn and leave with flat tires”, said Sotiris Danezis.
< As MEGA's correspondent, Giannis Charamidis described, “the gusts we received were on a road outside Mariupol and were of a warning nature”.
“A fragment of the specific bullets hit the wheel of our car, as a result of which we stopped the convoy and changed the tire,” he added, describing the nightmarish moments.
According to ANT1 envoy Christos Mazaniti , the motorcade came under fire from strangers. According to him, there was a change in the escape plan of the Greeks, due to the war situation in Ukraine, and it was decided on the way to Moldova.
“We started with 66 people and many cars have been added, those of us who are together are either with Greek passports or passports of other countries,” the journalist described.
“In the second block we fell to Russians and separatists. Chariot, 20 armored vehicles, dozens of armored Russian soldiers. They turned the gun and marked the first two vehicles. A chariot also marked the first car. We were surrounded by soldiers. After 20 minutes of negotiations and after paper checks and suitcases, they let us go. “We headed west and shortly before we reached the village we were going to, we found that it had been bombed,” he said. , where there will be a staff of the Embassy to provide them with all assistance.
Consul General in Mariupol Manolis Androulakis will remain at the Consulate General, which will continue to The evacuation of part of the staff of the Consulate General in Mariupol , with a simultaneous escape operation of the Greeks who wish to leave the war zone , it was decided yesterday, for today Wednesday, March 2, according to diplomatic sources.
As the same sources said yesterday, given the security situation in the Mariupol area but also that according to Russian announcements it will open today Wednesday humanitarian corridor for citizen exit from Mariupol to the West.
