Russia declares ceasefire in 4 Ukrainian cities to allow evacuation of civilians

Image Source : AP
People crowd as they try to get on a train to Lviv at the Kyiv station, Ukraine, Friday, March 4. 2022.

Highlights

The ceasefire announcement follows two failed attempts to evacuate civilians from Mariupol
Russia and Ukraine have traded blame for the failure of the ceasefire
Monday's ceasefire was announced at the request of French President Emmanuel Macron

Russia has declared a partial ceasefire for opening humanitarian corridors for civilians to leave Ukraine. Today is the 12th day of Russia's invasion of the neighbouring country. The decision was taken following a request from French President Emmanuel Macron who dialled Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, according to the Russian Defence Ministry.

The ceasefire in the areas of Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv, and Sumy will start at 10 AM (Moscow time) to open humanitarian corridors, according to a statement by the Russian military. Monday's ceasefire announcement follows two failed attempts to evacuate civilians from Mariupol, from which the International Committee of the Red Cross estimated 200,000 people were trying to flee. Russia and Ukraine have traded blame for the failure.

Evacuation routes published by Russia's RIA Novosti news agency, citing the Defense Ministry, show that civilians will be able to leave to Russia and Belarus. Russian forces will be observing the ceasefire with drones, the task force said.

Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24 days after President Vladimir Putin recognised separatist regions in Ukraine -- Donetsk and Luhansk -- as independent nations.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials described a catastrophic situation during failed evacuation efforts in Kyiv's suburbs. According to reports, officials from both sides have planned a third round of talks Monday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday vowed to fight, urging people to take to the streets to "drive this evil out of our cities, from our land". "Instead of humanitarian corridors, they can only make bloody ones," he said on Sunday, referring to an attempt to evacuate civilians that fell apart because of Russian bombing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that attacks could be halted only if Kyiv ceases hostilities. Putin blamed Ukraine for the war and said that Kyiv needed to stop all hostilities and fulfill the well-known demands of Russia.