Russia announced on March 7 it will open humanitarian corridors to allow the evacuation of civilians from several Ukrainian cities experiencing heavy fighting, including the capital Kyiv and besieged port city Mariupol.
“Russian forces, for humanitarian purposes, are declaring a ’regime of silence’ from 10:00 am on 7 March and the opening of humanitarian corridors,” the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Moscow said the decision was taken after a “personal request” by French President Emmanuel Macron to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
The pair spoke on Sunday in their fourth conversation since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th.
Moscow said it had informed the UN, the OSCE and other international organisations of the corridors and called on Ukraine to “strictly fulfil all the conditions” of the evacuations.
“We expect concrete actions from the official Kyiv authorities, as well as from the leadership of the above cities mentioned,” it said.
The Russian army pummelled Ukrainian cities from the air, land and sea on Monday, with warnings they were preparing for an assault on the capital Kyiv.
Hurriyet Daily News