Russia opens humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Berdyansk on Turkey's request

Following the request of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russia has now decided to open another humanitarian corridor in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol for evacuating civilians and foreign nationals safely. The Russian Defense Ministry in its statement on late Saturday said that it will be providing full assistance in the evacuation of foreigners held hostage by militants of national battalions in Mariupol further guaranteeing a 'regime of silence' throughout the process. 

The statement further states that the corridor will remain on April 3 from 3 AM (Moscow time) with strict compliance to the regime of silence on where the movement was guaranteed. Notably, a 'regime of silence' is a name provided for the 'cease-fire' for a certain period in certain areas during the evacuation purposes. During this while, foreign nationals can easily travel from Berdyansk to areas controlled by Ukraine or to Russia-controlled Crimea as they need. 

Further mentioning the Ukrainian administration's role in the evacuation, the statement noted that the Ukrainian side of the corridor will be also implemented shortly if the regime of silence is strictly observed and further asked the Kyiv administration to confirm in writing that it would comply with the evacuation as to both the Russian and Turkish sides followed by the International Organization of the Red Cross and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 

Thousands of Ukrainians affected due to Russia-Ukraine war

In the meantime, as the Russia-Ukraine war is ongoing for more than a month now, it has taken a severe turn of events as Russia continues to escalate its military operations in Ukraine. The war which started on February 24 has also met with international outrage followed by economic sanctions by western countries and the European Union.

Speaking about its impact on the Ukrainian people, around 1,325 civilians have been killed so far and more than 2,000 people have been injured. Apart from that, millions of Ukrainians have also fled to other countries followed by many others who are internally displaced, stated the United Nations. The Russian forces have caused severe damage to infrastructure in Ukraine including military bases and residential areas. 

Image: AP