Ukrainians would not travel to Belarus from places north of Kyiv and then be flown to Russia. Vereshchuk said she had suggested Russia open escape corridors inside Ukraine to the West. She urged Russia to agree to a ceasefire to allow Ukrainians to flee to the western city of Lviv. “We demand from the Russian Federation the opening of opportunities for humanitarian corridors through which (…) medicines and food can be brought,” she said.
“People’s suffering is being used to create the desired TV images,” said a written statement by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s spokesman. “They are citizens of Ukraine, they should have the right to be evacuated to Ukrainian territory.”
Video: situation in Kyiv
The Russian Ministry of Defense had announced a ceasefire from 8 a.m. In addition to the capital Kyiv, such passages are also planned for Kharkiv, Mariupol and Sumy. Russia is thereby complying with a personal request from French President Emmanuel Macron. We demand from the Ukrainian side to strictly fulfill all the conditions for the creation of humanitarian corridors (…),” the Russian military said.
According to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia wants to set up six corridors in Ukraine to enable civilians to escape from contested areas. For example, people from Kyiv should be driven to Gomel in Belarus in order to be flown to Russia from there. From Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, civilians were to be taken to the southern Russian city of Rostov. Residents of Sumy should therefore find temporary accommodation in the central Ukrainian city of Poltava. The escape route for the people of Kiev should lead to Belarus.
According to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, pro-Russian separatists have launched an offensive in Mariupol. The attack took place in the west of the city. According to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, eight civilians were killed near the Kiev suburb of Irpin in an attempt to set up a “green corridor”. The mayor of Bucha, Anatoly Fedorchuk, was injured.
Video: Refugees in Warsaw
The Hostomel community leader was killed, according to local authorities. Russian troops shot Yuri Prylypko in a targeted manner, the municipal council announced on Facebook on Monday. “He died giving bread to the hungry and medicine to the sick.” Two other helpers were killed with him. There was no reaction from the Russian side. The information cannot be independently verified. Hostomel, northwest of Kyiv, with the nearby airfield, has been fought over since the beginning of the war.
According to the Ukrainian negotiator David Arachamia, a third round of talks with Russia on a ceasefire is planned for this Monday. However, no agreement is expected as long as Russian troops try to advance further, said adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidential staff, Olexii Arestovich. He advised his countrymen against fleeing to Russia.
At the weekend, the creation of a humanitarian corridor from the surrounded Mariupol failed twice. Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for this. There are fears in Ukraine and the West that rocket and grenade attacks on cities will increase.
Russian President Vladimir Putin showed no sign of backing down over the weekend. “It is to be hoped that in the planned next round of negotiations, the representatives of Ukraine will show a more constructive approach, (and) fully take into account the newly emerging reality,” he said, according to the Presidential Office.
Russia describes its actions as a “special operation”. The goal is not the occupation of Ukraine, but the destruction of Ukraine’s military capacities and the arrest of nationalists classified as dangerous. So far, the government in Kyiv has also not shown any willingness to give in to Russian demands.
Source: Nachrichten
