Russia to start observing humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine on Wed.
Russia will start observing a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine, where it has been conducting a military operation, as of Wednesday.
"Given the deteriorating humanitarian situation ... and in order to ensure the safety of civilians and foreign citizens, Russia will observe a regime of silence from 10 a.m. Moscow time (07:00 GMT) on March 9 and is ready to provide humanitarian corridors," Russia’s ITAR-TASS news agency cited Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defense Control Center, as saying on Tuesday.
Information about corridors from the Ukrainian capital of Kiev as well as the cities of Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Mariupol would be sent to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, Mizintsev said.
This comes as attempted evacuations from Mariupol have failed on several occasions in recent days, with both Kiev and Moscow blaming each other for the failures.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” aimed at “demilitarization” of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine. In 2014, the two regions declared themselves new republics, refusing to recognize Ukraine’s Western-backed government.
Announcing the operation, Putin said the mission was aimed at “defending people who for eight years are suffering persecution and genocide by the Kiev regime.”
Russia says it will halt the military operation instantly if Kiev meets Moscow’s list of conditions.
Moscow has specified some of the demands as protection of its interests and nationals in Ukraine and prevention of the country’s accession to the Western military alliance of NATO.
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