Russia announced Monday evening the establishment of local ceasefires in several Ukrainian cities from 0700 GMT on Tuesday to allow the evacuation of civilians via humanitarian corridors.
• Read also: [EN DIRECT] 12th day of war in Ukraine: here are all the developments
• Read also: The Save Ukraine campaign: the best way to help the Ukrainian people
According to Moscow, the new evacuation routes will be communicated to the Ukrainian authorities, who must give their agreement before 00:00 GMT on the night of Monday to Tuesday, the deadline set by Russia.
“The Russian Federation announces a ceasefire from 10 a.m. Moscow time (0700 GMT) on March 8” for the evacuation of civilians from Kiev, as well as the cities of Sumy, Kharkiv, Cherniguiv and Mariupol, said in a press release the cell of the Russian Ministry of Defense, in charge of humanitarian operations in Ukraine.
She assured that the Ukrainian authorities had so far been “unable to ensure the functioning of the humanitarian corridors”, noting that the situation in many Ukrainian cities “has rapidly deteriorated and acquired the character of a humanitarian catastrophe. “.
Moscow had already announced Monday morning the establishment of local ceasefires and the opening of corridors to allow the departure of civilians from several besieged cities.
But Ukraine has refused to evacuate civilians to Russia, with four of the six corridors proposed by the Russians going to that country or its neighbor and ally Belarus.
And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused the Russian military of frustrating other evacuations by continuing to fire.
- Listen to Guillaume Lavoie, associate member of the Raoul-Dandurand Chair and observer in Ukraine three times, on QUB radio: