Russia Announces Ceasefire in Mariupol to Allow Civilian Evacuation

By Al Ahed Staff, Agencies

Russia has announced a local ceasefire to allow civilians to be evacuated from Ukraine's besieged port city of Mariupol, calling on Kiev to respect the truce, as the conflict between the neighbors rages on.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that a humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, via the Russian-controlled port of Berdiansk, would be open from 10 am [0700 GMT] Thursday.

"For this humanitarian operation to succeed, we propose to carry it out with the direct participation of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross," the ministry said.

Moscow has urged Kiev to guarantee the "unconditional respect" for the ceasefire through written notification to the Russian side, the UNHCR and ICRC before 6 am local time, the ministry said, adding that the Ukrainian side should also ensure the security of the bus convoys along the designated corridor.

Russia has also agreed to a proposal from Ukraine to open four new humanitarian corridors from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, the Russian ministry added.

Mariupol, home to about 400,000 people, has been under heavy bombardment for weeks. Civilians trapped there have been sheltering in basements with little food, power or running water. Previous attempts to arrange safe passage out of the port city have failed.

Ukraine and Russia have traded blame for the occasional failure of humanitarian corridors in recent weeks.

Separately on Wednesday, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Telegram that the country had established three humanitarian corridors so that civilians could be evacuated from besieged towns and cities.

According to Vereshchuk, two corridors were set up in the southern Zaporizhzhia region so that Ukrainian civilians could flee Melitopol and Energodar. The third corridor was established in the eastern Donetsk region to evacuate people from Mariupol.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24. The conflict has provoked a unanimous response from Western countries, which have imposed a long list of sanctions on Moscow.

Russia says it will halt the military operation instantly if Kiev meets Moscow’s list of demands, including never applying to join NATO.

The military conflict has so far displaced more than 3.5 million people in what the United Nations has described as the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.