Russia is holding a partial ceasefire in Ukraine on Saturday to establish so-called humanitarian corridors and allow civilians to flee. It is the first time that the attacks have stopped since the beginning of the conflicts on 24 February.
The agreement began at 10 am Moscow time (4 am in BrasÃlia) and is valid only for the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha, which were surrounded by Vladimir Putin’s forces.
Earlier, the mayor of Mariupol, Vadim Boichenko, said the city was the target of “relentless attacks” and that it was “blocked” by the Russian military. Residents of the region have been without water and electricity since Thursday (3).
“For now we are looking for solutions to humanitarian problems and all possible ways to get Mariupol out of the blockade,” Boichenko said. In addition to evacuating civilians, officials also plan to bring medicine and other basic supplies to the city.
There are already reports, however, of attacks. The Mariupol legislature reported that Russian forces were not complying with the agreement along the entire length of the humanitarian corridor. “We are negotiating with the Russian side to confirm a ceasefire along the entire evacuation route,” it said in a statement.
The Ukrainian government plans to help evacuate around 200,000 people in Mariupol and another 15,000 in Volnovakha. According to the Russian news agency RIA, civilians will have five hours to cross humanitarian corridors while the firing is stopped.
Considered strategic by Moscow, Mariupol is a port city in southeastern Ukraine located 150 km from Rostov-on-Don, the main city in southern Russia. It was attacked from the first day of the war and is an important port on the Sea of ​​Azov, a minor division of the Black Sea. Almost 90% of the world’s production of neon gas passes through there.
The city is also considered the last point of resistance to prevent the establishment of a land bridge linking Russia’s Rostov region with the Crimea annexed in 2014 by Putin, as Kherson is also taken, according to Moscow troops.
Russia and Ukraine agreed to establish humanitarian corridors on Thursday (3), during a meeting of delegations from the two countries for negotiations in Belarus.
This Saturday, the adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, Anton Heraschenko, said that more agreements must be reached with Moscow for the implementation of new exit routes, such as those from Mariupol and Volnovakha, in other territories of the country.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is also said to have discussed with his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Makei the establishment of other routes, according to the RIA news agency.
Humanitarian corridors or security zones imply a ceasefire, something that, as seen in the Bosnian war in the 1990s, is a very precarious instrument. In addition, they can be used to vacate areas of potentially hostile civilians to invaders, with no guarantees that they will ever return to their homes.
The move could facilitate the eventual military occupation of territories and further Putin’s presumed plan to remove the area from Ukrainian sovereignty.
Although attacks were halted in Mariupol and Volnovakha on Saturday, Moscow forces continued their offensive through the night, with bombing raids on Kiev.
Authorities urged residents of the capital to remain in shelters and warned of the risk of clashes in the city’s streets.
In the town of Bucha, near Kiev, Russian forces were accused of opening fire on a civilian vehicle, according to local media. Two people were said to have died in the attack, including a 17-year-old girl, and four others were reportedly injured.
Putin’s troops also occupied the Energodar City Hall building, according to the city’s leader, Dmitro Orlov, who guarantees that the city – where the Zaporijia power plant, taken by Russians this Friday (4) – is still under Ukrainian control. .
At another nuclear plant, the one in Chernobyl, the same group of workers has been working shifts for ten days since the Moscow military took over the site, according to Ukrainian media. They are “tired mentally and physically”, reported Slavutich Mayor Yuri Fomichev.
Ukrainian defense forces also claimed they shot down a Russian helicopter. The video of the action was released by the official profile of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. In the images, the aircraft is hit by a missile and explodes. The location and date of the attack, however, were not disclosed.
As of Friday, more than 1.2 million people had fled Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion, according to UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) data. Poland is by far the country that has received the most refugees from the conflict.
