Russia has opened “humanitarian corridors” so that people can move away from Kyiv and four other Ukrainian cities, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv (Kharkov) and Mariupol, the Russian Interfax news agency reported, citing a Russian news agency today.
The Ministry of Defense added that the Russian forces in Ukraine stopped firing from 09:00 Greek time, Interfax added.
The evacuation of civilians from the city of Sumy, in northeastern Ukraine, and from the city of Irpin, near the capital Kyiv, began a few hours ago, Ukrainian officials announced.
A humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians, including foreign students, from Sumy to Poltava has been agreed today. We call on Russia to uphold its ceasefire commitment, to refrain from activities that endanger the lives of people and to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid. pic.twitter.com/W6ArLPKtBq
– MFA of Ukraine ???????? (@MFA_Ukraine) March 8, 2022
The evacuation of civilians began after Russian and Ukrainian officials agreed to set up “humanitarian corridors” to allow civilians to leave some cities besieged by Russian forces.
Earlier, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Verestsuk said that civilians would begin to leave the besieged Ukrainian city of Sumy today under an agreement with Russia to establish a “humanitarian corridor”.
“It was agreed that the first convoy will start around 10 am (local time and Greek time) from the city of Sumi. This convoy will be followed by the local population with its own cars,” she said in statements broadcast by television networks.
Civilians have been trapped by clashes raging since Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24.
A humanitarian corridor is expected to open today in the Ukrainian city of Sumy, announced the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine.
The civilians are expected to start departing by bus at 10:00 Greek time, according to him. However, the fighting continues and the casualties increase.
More than 10 people have been killed in Russian airstrikes in Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, local authorities say.
“In some places, apartment buildings were bombed,” complained Dmitry Zivicki, head of the regional government, in a statement he uploaded to the social networking site Facebook.
Among the 10 people killed when houses were bombed, even in central Sumi, were children, he continued.
Four Ukrainian soldiers were also killed in what Mr Zivitsky called an “unequal battle with the Russian army.”
The information provided by the local official could not be independently verified.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov estimated that the damage caused by the Russian armed forces after the invasion exceeded $ 10 billion on Sunday. He explained that he was referring mainly to the damage to infrastructure such as bridges, airports, the railway network, etc., according to the current edition of the newspaper Ukrainian Pravda. He added that the damaged infrastructure can be restored in two years and that the country is counting on international aid for its reconstruction.
At the same time, Kyiv accuses Moscow that Russian forces are preventing civilians from moving safely out of cities targeted by Russian bombing.
“We have agreed on humanitarian corridors. Did they work? “The Russian tanks, the Grands (Russian rocket launchers), the mines were in operation,” he said. Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky in his recorded message.
He also accused Russian forces of “mining the road agreed to be used to transport food and medicine” to besieged Mariupol in southern Ukraine, and of “destroying buses” to evacuate civilians from war zones.
Outside Kyiv, eight people were reported killed, including two children, as they tried to flee their homes, CNN reported.
There are fears for civilians trapped in the cities of Mariupol, Volnovaka and Kyiv.
Russia suggested new ceasefire for this morning in five cities.
At least 1.5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, according to UN estimates.
Conflicts are raging
Fierce clashes on several fronts are raging for the 13th day in Ukraine.
Strong explosions were heard shortly after midnight in the port of Odessa, where – according to the BBC – the Ukrainian defense system shot down Russian missiles fired from warships.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry also announced via Twitter that it had shot down two Russian fighters over the capital of the country.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says artillery shells damaged a nuclear research facility in Kharkov.
The same source stated that no increase in the level of radioactivity was found in the facility.
More than 742,000 people do not currently have access to electricity in Ukraine, while 238,000 are without gas, according to the country’s energy ministry.
The same source points out that the situation is more difficult in the Russian-disputed area of ​​Donetsk in the east, where more than 233,000 citizens are without electricity.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
