Russia’s defence ministry has announced a ceasefire in two major cities in Ukraine to allow civilian evacuation amid the ongoing attacks in the European country.
Russia and Ukraine agreed to a temporary ceasefire in the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakhato to allow civilians to leave.
Pavlo Kirilenko, head of the Donetsk military-civil administration that governs Mariupol, said the humanitarian corridor would extend to Zaporizhzhia.
“Today, March 5, from 10 am Moscow time (0700 GMT), the Russian side declares a regime of silence and opens humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilians from Mariupol and Volnovakha,” the statement said.
Both cities are within Donetsk, one of two Ukrainian regions that Russia’s Vladimir Putin recognized as independent just before his troops invaded Ukraine.
“In Mariupol and Volnovakha, evacuation humanitarian corridors are being prepared for opening, and columns of those to be evacuated are being formed. The parties temporarily ceased fire in the area of corridors,” Mykhailo Podoliak, an advisor to the Ukrainian President, said on Twitter.
The new development follows Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky accusing NATO of being responsible for civilian deaths as they refused to declare a no-fly zone over the country.
On Friday, the defence bloc said it was not seeking conflict with Russia, as declaring a no-fly zone may be seen as a declaration of war by Russia and may escalate the ongoing crisis.