What is 'humanitarian corridor' agreed by Russia and Ukraine? How will it work?

In a major relief to the people of war-torn Ukraine, Russia has declared a temporary ceasefire for opening up humanitarian corridors for the safe passage of civilians.

In the 10 days since Ukraine's invasion, over one million people have fled the country as Russian forces continue to bomb its cities, mainly the capital Kyiv. While Kherson became the first city to be seized by Russia, heavy shelling continues in Mariupol, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv.

During the second round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine today, the delegations reached an understanding to create humanitarian corridors for civilians to be evacuated.

Moscow said it is allowing civilians to leave two of Ukraine's worst-hit cities, Mariupol and Volnovakha.

What is a humanitarian corridor?

Humanitarian corridors are spaces or routes created for the safe passage of civilians out of conflict zones. They work when both sides agree to hold fire for a small period of time and there is no fighting in a particular area. This allows civilians to escape from dangerous areas and aid can be brought in to those who have to stay there.

Humanitarian corridors were first defined in 1990, in a resolution 45/100 of the United Nations General Assembly. The “relief corridors” are seen as an important instrument to back up the right of civilians to get assistance during armed conflicts, which is recognized in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977.

Humanitarian corridors have been frequently used in the Syrian civil war, Libyan civil war, Gaza war, and many other conflict zones.

Which routes will operate Humanitarian Corridor in Ukraine?

Russia's defence ministry declared the route connecting Mariupol and Volnovakha as demilitarized zones for a period of six hours on March 5. Today, from10 AM - 4 PM (local time), humanitarian corridors will operate for the exit of civilians of these crisis-hit cities. They will be allowed to leave and seek aid.

The Mariupol- Nikolskoe - Rozovka - Pologi - Orekhov - Zaporizhzhia route has been chosen as a humanitarian corridor, the authorities said. The route is about 64 km which will take over an hour to cover on a vehicle. 

Here's what the route looks like -

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's aide - Mikhail Podolyak - claimed that 200,000 people are trying to evacuate from Mariupol, while 20,000 people want to leave Volnovakha (which falls in the Donetsk region).