Russia will open humanitarian corridors for Ukrainians from five cities – allowing them to escape the war, according to reports.
The move was announced by Russian news outlets RIA and Interfax, which quoted Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defence Control Centre, as saying people could travel to Russia or to other cities in Ukraine.
The corridors will be open from 10am on Friday (Moscow time) from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, along with Sumy, Kharkiv, Mariupol, and Chernihiv, Interfax said.
Image: The Russian invasion of Ukraine as at 10 March
But, according to RIA news agency, Russian officials will require lists of people’s names and vehicle registration numbers before they are allowed to enter the humanitarian corridors.
Ukrainian authorities previously blamed Russians for breaking promises to allow the evacuation of civilians, but Moscow said the operations were disrupted by Ukrainian forces.
According to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, three humanitarian corridors operated on Wednesday – from Sumy (in the north east near the Russian border), from Kyiv, and from Enerhodar (in the south).
About 35,000 people got out, he said, with hopes that more could be helped to safety on Thursday, but Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said no civilians were able to leave the besieged city of Mariupol on Thursday.
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International Red Cross spokesman Jason Straziuso said any humanitarian corridors needed to be well-planned with agreements from both sides, including the right to bring in food, clean water, medical supplies, and other vital items.
Mariupol – a city of 430,000 – is particularly desperate, with Mr Straziuso saying the Red Cross had not been able to resupply its teams there for days.
Mr Zelenskyy’s office said about 1,200 people have died in the city so far.
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It comes as the Russian invasion of Ukraine grinds on, with talks between the two countries’ foreign ministers on Thursday failing to find any resolution.
Russia’s military is struggling more than expected, but its force of more than 150,000 troops still has advantages in firepower as it slowly makes its way towards key cities.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of civilians remain trapped in Ukraine, and the United Nations estimates more than two million people have fled the country – the biggest exodus of refugees in Europe since the end of the Second World War.
Source : Sky News
