Humanitarian corridors reopened in 2 Ukrainian cities today morning: Russia
Russia has reportedly claimed that humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians from two Ukrainian cities--Mariupol and Volnovakha--will be reopened on Sunday morning. This comes after Russia declared a brief ceasefire on Saturday in both cities to allow civilians to leave the war sites. However, it didn't work out as Ukrainian officials said that Russian troops continued shelling, halting the work to evacuate civilians.
Why does this story matter?
Russia on Saturday declared a brief ceasefire in parts of Ukraine to allow civilians to evacuate the war zone. The ceasefire was supposed to be in place for five and a half hours from 11.30 pm IST onwards. The creation of a humanitarian corridor was agreed upon by both Russia and Ukraine during their second round of talks in Belarus.
Evacuation halted on Saturday
The evacuation efforts on Saturday quickly fell apart due to shelling from the Russian side, Ukrainian officials claimed. "The Russian side is not holding to the cease-fire and has continued firing on Mariupol itself and its surrounding area," said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of Ukraine's President's office. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Russia breached the deal in Volnovakha as well.
Doing everything to make the agreement work: Zelensky
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his government is doing everything on its part to "make the agreement work." "This is one of the main tasks for today. Let's see if we can go further in the negotiation process," Zelensky added. "Talks with the Russian Federation are ongoing regarding setting up a cease-fire and ensuring a safe humanitarian corridor," said Tymoshenko.
Firing came from inside city to Russian position: Russia
On the other hand, Moscow has rejected the allegations, with Russia's state-owned news agency RIA Novosti carrying a defense ministry claim that the firing came from inside both cities against Russian positions.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, with its armed forces launching hundreds of missile and artillery attacks on cities across the country. Ukraine's capital Kyiv may also fall at any time as a vast Russian armored column is stationed outside the city. Reportedly, at least 331 civilians in Ukraine have died so far in the conflict and over 1.4 million have fled the country.
