All news

Humanitarian corridors from Kiev, Chernigov, Sumy, Kharkov, Mariupol to open Friday

Starting from 10:00 Moscow time on March 11, the Russian Federation announces a ceasefire and is ready to ensure humanitarian corridors

MOSCOW, March 11. /TASS/. Starting from 10:00 Moscow time on March 11, Russia will open humanitarian corridors from Kiev, Chernigov, Sumy, Kharkov and Mariupol, chief of the Russian National Defense Management Center Mikhail Mizintsev said on Thursday.

"Starting from 10:00 Moscow time on March 11, the Russian Federation announces a ceasefire and is ready to ensure humanitarian corridors (safety of pedestrian traffic, as well as safe passage for bus convoys and civilian vehicles)," he said.

Evacuation from Kiev will be possible via two routes: to Russia via Belarus or southward (in coordination with the Ukrainian side).

Two routes will also be available for those leaving Chernigov: to Russia via Belarus or southward, (in coordination with the Ukrainian side).

Evacuation from Sumy will be carried out via the Russian city of Belgorod or via the Ukrainian city of Poltava (in coordination with the Ukrainian side).

Residents of Kharkov can leave either via Russia’s Belgorod or via Ukraine’s Lvov, Uzhgorod and Ivano-Frankovsk (in coordination with the Ukrainian side).

Evacuation from Mariupol will be possible to Russia’s Rostov-on-Don via Novoazovsk and Taganrog.

Mizintsev stressed that the Russian military needs the Ukrainian side’s written guarantees of safety of the evacuation routes. In his words, the Ukrainian authorities should "coordinate the above-mentioned routes and the time of when the humanitarian corridors begin their work," as well as "to provide the Russian coordination center for humanitarian response in Ukraine with a written consent to those approaches, including security guarantees for the above-mentioned humanitarian corridors."

Moreover, Russia suggested launching a continuous communication channel starting from 09:00 Moscow time, in order to exchange information about preparations for evacuation of civilians and foreign nationals.