KYIV: Russia declared a partial ceasefire on Saturday to allow humanitarian corridors out of the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha, Russia’s defense ministry said.
“From 1000 am Moscow time (0700 GMT), the Russian side declares a ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to leave Mariupol and Volnovakha,” Russian news agencies quoted the Russian defense ministry as saying.
Russian troops have blockaded the strategic Ukrainian port city Mariupol, its mayor announced Saturday, as Moscow and Kyiv aimed to hold new talks over the weekend.
“For now, we are looking for solutions to humanitarian problems and all possible ways to get Mariupol out of the blockade,” said mayor Vadim Boychenko. He called for a ceasefire and a humanitarian corridor for food and medicine.
Moscow has seized two key cities in its 10-day-long invasion, Berdiansk and Kherson on Ukraine’s southern Black Sea coast.
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But capturing Mariupol, a city of about 450,000 people on the Azov Sea, would represent a bigger prize for Russian forces as it would deal a severe blow to Ukraine’s maritime access and connect troops coming from Crimea and the Donbas.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said late Friday that Moscow was waiting for the third round of talks with Ukraine in Belarus, and one of Kyiv’s negotiators said it hoped to hold them this weekend.
“The third leg could take place tomorrow or the day after, we are in constant contact,” Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said Friday.
As Russia continued its attack across the country, the Ukrainian military claimed on Facebook that Moscow’s main focus was to encircle Kyiv.
In a hospital in the Ukrainian capital, wounded soldiers told AFP of their grim battle against the Russian advance, and vowed to return to the frontline.
