Russia’s defense minister says land corridor allows Russia to start delivering goods to Mariupol, Berdyansk and Kherson
Another step towards the unification of Crimea with Donbass, and consequently with Russia, seems to be taking place Moscow. Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday it had opened one “Land corridor” to Russian-occupied Crimea, allowing citizens and goods to pass through eastern Ukrainian territory now under its control.
The Russian Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, said in a teleconference on Tuesday that the army, in co-operation with the Russian Railways, had restored 1,200 kilometers opened roads to allow “full traffic” between Russia and eastern Ukraine. The Donbass region and Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russian forces from Ukraine in 2014. Water supply through the Northern Crimea Canal – a lifeline for Crimea – has also reopened, Soigu said.
The Russian Defense Minister said that the land corridor allowed Russia to start delivering goods to Mariupol, Berdyansk and Hersonissosport cities of southeastern Ukraine that have been occupied by Russia since it began its invasion in late February.
He also claimed that the ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk were operating normally, and were ready to transport grain, amid international condemnation of Russia’s months-long blockade of key ports. millions of tonnes of cereals stored in Ukraine, at a time when the food crisis is intensifying.
Meanwhile, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky He told the Financial Times that he was prepared to negotiate with Russia, but that the only person with whom he could discuss the end of the war was Putin himself.
“Any war must end at the negotiating table,” he said. “It simply came to our notice then. “I am still determined and determined, whether I like it or not, I am ready for direct negotiations with President Putin if we are ready to seriously discuss ending this war,” he said.
However, the President of Ukraine stated that “he simply can not see the conditions for ending the war “.
