Ukraine, Russia agree on six "green corridors" for evacuation of civilians

Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, spoke about this at a briefing on March 9, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"At half-past six in the morning, we received a message from the Russian Federation, approving our previously proposed routes, as well as a message from the International Committee of the Red Cross about the letter sent in their name with such approval," Vereshchuk said.

According to the official, Ukraine also sent a letter to the International Committee of the Red Cross, and at 9 o'clock in the morning, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal spoke with ICRC Head Peter Mayer to confirm such an agreement. The military must cease fire from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

According to the government official, a ceasefire will be introduced along the following routes:

Energodar - Zaporizhia;

Sumy - toward Poltava;

Mariupol - Zaporizhia;

Volnovakha - Pokrovsk;

Raisins - Lozova (Kharkiv region);

In Kyiv region, it’s Vorzel, Bucha, Borodianka, Hostomel, and Irpin - toward Kyiv via Stoyanka and Belhorodka.

"I appeal to the Russian Federation: you have made a formal public commitment to cease fire from 9 am on March 9, 2022. We have seen a negative experience where even such commitments didn’t work. This is about the routes Mariupol - Zaporizhia, as well as Volnovakha - Pokrovsk," Vereshchuk said.

The Deputy Prime Minister - Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories stressed that she was approached by residents of Volnovakha and asked that we ensure that the Russians keep  their promise and people can flee the shelters where they are now hiding from Grad rockets and devastating fire that is killing them.

Separately, Vereshchuk touched upon the situation in Vorzel, a settlement just outside Kyiv, where a boarding kindergarden is located with 55 children and staff in it. "There is a special operation that will be carried out to evacuate this orphanage. We have asked the Russian armed forces to abide by their commitments and cease fire until 9 pm," Vereshchuk said.

As reported, on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops are shelling and destroying key infrastructure, massively hitting residential areas of Ukrainian cities and villages, using artillery, multiple rocket launchers, and ballistic missiles.

Martial law was imposed in Ukraine and general mobilization was announced.

Ukraine has officially filed a lawsuit against the Russian Federation with the UN International Criminal Court in The Hague.