The Russian defence ministry has announced a local ceasefire to allow civilians to be evacuated from Ukraine’s besieged port city of Mariupol.
A humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, via the Russian-controlled port of Berdiansk, would be opened from 10am on Thursday, the ministry said.
“For this humanitarian operation to succeed, we propose to carry it out with the direct participation of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR] and the International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC],” the ministry statement said.
The Russian ministry asked Kyiv to guarantee “unconditional respect” for the ceasefire through written notification to the Russian side, the UNHCR and ICRC before 6am Thursday.
