Russia announces ceasefire in Ukraine to open humanitarian corridors for civilians

Russia has announced a ceasefire in Ukraine from 0600 hours GMT or 1130 hours IST to open humanitarian corridors for civilians, Russian media outlet Sputnik has announced.

Team Newsable

Moscow, First Published Mar 5, 2022, 12:16 PM IST | Last Updated Mar 5, 2022, 12:42 PM IST

Russia has announced a ceasefire in Ukraine from 6 AM GMT or 11:30 AM IST to open humanitarian corridors for civilians, Russian media outlet Sputnik has announced.

The ceasefire has been announced to facilitate the exit of civilians from Mariupol and Volnovakha. Humanitarian corridors and exit routes agreed with the Ukrainian side, the Russian defense ministry said.

Also Read: India issues dos and don'ts for nationals stranded in Kharkiv

About 200,000 people are trying to evacuate from Mariupol, which is one of Ukraine's largest ports. Another 20,000 people also want to leave Volnovakha in the Donetsk region. The ceasefire call comes 10 days into the Russia's war on Ukraine. Russian armed forces have encircled Mariupol and Volnovakha, both of which are under Ukrainian control.

Mikhail Podolyak, a member of Ukraine's negotiation team, told Russian media outlet RT that the two sides had discussed the possibility of temporarily ceasing hostilities to allow civilians to evacuate.

According to the United Nations human rights office, over 331 civilians have been killed and 675 injured in since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Among those killed are 19 children.

Most of the people who were killed during the course of the investigation, most of the victims were killed in shelling from heavy artillery and missile and air strikes.

Russia invaded Ukraine citing that it was defending the newly carved out Republic of Donetsk and Lugansk, which had broken away from Ukraine. While recognising these two areas, Moscow said it was seeking the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. Kyiv, on the other hand, termed the invasion as entirely unprovoked and appealed to the international community for help.

Also Read: Russia-Ukraine war: Do's and dont's in case of nuclear disaster