Russia declared a partial ceasefire on Saturday to allow humanitarian corridors out of the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha, Russia’s defence ministry said.
“From 1000 am Moscow time (0700 GMT), the Russian side declares a ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to leave Mariupol and Volnovakha,” Russian news agencies quoted the Russian defence ministry as saying.
Ukraine said it planned to evacuate 200,000 people from Mariupol and 15,000 from Volnovakha, with the Red Cross acting as the guarantor of the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has warned that Russia must not take advantage of an agreed humanitarian corridor to advance its troops.
She said her government was “verifying” information that Russian troops were using the ceasefire to move closer to Ukrainian positions in areas along the evacuation routes.
“We are using this channel to evacuate civilians – women and children – as well as to deliver humanitarian cargo to those remaining,” she said.
“The whole world is watching.”
Vereshchuk also confirmed that the International Committee of the Red Cross mediated the talks on the ceasefire, and will head the evacuation columns along the agreed routes out of the cities.
