French president vows to launch 'humanitarian operation' in Mariupol with Greece and Turkey in the next few days

• French President Emmanuel Macron said he would work to evacuate residents from Mariupol, Ukraine.
• The "humanitarian operation" would be conducted with the help of Greece and Turkey.

France intends to launch an international rescue operation in the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol, President Emmanuel Macron said Friday.

The "exceptional humanitarian operation" would begin within "the next few days," Macron said, adding that he would finalize the details over the next 48 hours in a call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, Le Monde reported.

Around 100,000 people remain trapped in the port city, which has been bombed and besieged by Russian forces for weeks now. On Friday, local authorities said some 300 people were killed last week after Russia bombed a theater that was being used as a shelter. The United Nations said it has also received evidence of mass graves in Mariupol, with one containing 200 corpses.

Macron said the mission to evacuate the city's remaining inhabitants would be conducted with the help of Turkey and Greece. All three nations are members of NATO.

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