Russia announced Monday evening the establishment of local ceasefires in several Ukrainian cities from 07:00 GMT (2:00 a.m. in Quebec) on Tuesday to allow the evacuation of civilians via humanitarian corridors, following new negotiations with the Ukrainians.
“The Russian Federation announces a ceasefire from 10:00 a.m. Moscow time on March 8” for the evacuation of civilians from Kiev, as well as the cities of Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernigiv and Mariupol , said the cell of the Russian Ministry of Defense in charge of humanitarian operations in Ukraine, in a statement quoted by Russian news agencies.
The Ukrainian side had previously noted “some positive results” obtained during the negotiations on the humanitarian corridors.
But the Russian army continued its offensive and its bombardments, causing in particular, according to Ukrainian relief, thirteen deaths in a strike on an industrial bakery, in Makariv, a locality located on one of the main axes leading from the west of the Ukraine in Kyiv.
On the twelfth day of the invasion triggered by Vladimir Poutinethe Russian army continued its advance towards the capital, which expects an attack “in the coming days”, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior.
“Every house, every street, every checkpoint will resist until death if necessary,” promised the mayor of Kiev, former boxing champion Vitali Klitschko.
UN appeal
The humanitarian situation is also worsening day by day, with several towns under siege where food is running out.
The UN “needs safe corridors to provide humanitarian aid in areas of hostilities” in Ukraine, in this context hammered Monday at the UN Security Council the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Foreign Affairs humanitarians, Martin Griffiths.
And this, shortly after the Russian and Ukrainian delegations ended in Belarus, on the border with Poland, a third session of talks devoted to the evacuation of civilians from the encircled cities.
At the end of these discussions, the Ukrainians spoke of “some positive results” on the humanitarian corridors. “We will provide more effective help to people who suffer from the aggression of the Russian Federation,” said Mykhailo Podoliak, a member of the Ukrainian delegation.
On key issues, such as those relating to a ceasefire, “intensive dialogues will continue”, he added. On these points, there are to date “no results that could improve the situation”, according to him.
For his part, the Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinski considered that this third session had not been “up to expectations”.
Moscow announced Monday morning the establishment of local ceasefires and the opening of corridors to allow the departure of civilians from several cities in Ukraine – including Kiev and Kharkiv, the second largest city in the north – is — under heavy fire for several days.
But Ukraine refused to evacuate civilians to Russia — four of the six corridors proposed by the Russians went to that country or its neighbor and ally Belarus.
In an exchange with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, Vladimir Putin accused the “Ukrainian nationalist battalions of hindering [les évacuations] resorting to violence and various provocations”.
French President Emmanuel Macron, for his part, denounced “the moral and political cynicism” expressed in this Russian proposal to offer humanitarian corridors to Ukrainians to “bring them to Russia”.
Escape by a plank
In Irpin, the last city-lock before Kiev arriving from the west, 10,000 people have marched in recent days on an improbable plank of wood, half sunk in water, to escape the bombardments. The concrete bridge, gaping over the river, was destroyed by Ukrainian forces to prevent the passage of Russian armor.
Children, the elderly – some carried on carpets serving as stretchers – and families abandon strollers, suitcases too heavy to rush into buses and vans.
“I’m so happy I made it through, it’s going to be fine now,” says Olga, 48, who took this route with her two dogs.
Odessa, on the shores of the Black Sea, is also increasingly threatened. Distraught families have entrusted sick old parents, too weak to flee the port city, to the Archangelo Mikhailovsky monastery, with golden and gray domes, AFP noted. “But we won’t be able to take everyone, alas! It is becoming too difficult to manage and we are running out of money,” says the head of the monastery, Mother Serafim.
New fighting also took place near Sumy, in the northeast, “there are deaths”, said the head of the military administration of the region, Dmitry Jivitsky.
Healthcare establishments under attack
Ukrainians also continue to take the road to exile en masse. The war has already pushed more than 1.7 million people to seek refuge in neighboring countries, according to the UN.
Europe can expect to receive five million exiles if the bombardment of cities continues, estimated the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has deplored in this regard that since the start of the Russian offensive on February 24, there have been 16 cases of attacks on healthcare establishments in Ukraine.
Ukrainian Education Minister Sergiy Shkarlet said 211 schools were damaged in the shelling.
Nearly 100,000 children, half of whom are disabled, live in institutions or boarding schools in Ukraine, the UN also recalled on Monday, stressing the need to take precautions before evacuating them to another country.
Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, described as a “special military operation” by Moscow, at least 406 civilians have been killed and 801 injured, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The UNHCR stresses, however, that its assessments are probably much lower than the reality.
Embargo on Russian hydrocarbons?
Diplomacy is also trying to regain its rights, with an announced meeting of Russian foreign ministers, Sergei Lavrov, Ukrainian, Dmytro Kouleba and their Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Cavusoglu, Thursday in Turkey.
However, hopes of success are slim, Vladimir Putin continuing to set as a precondition for any dialogue Kiev’s acceptance of all Moscow’s demands, in particular the demilitarization of Ukraine and a neutral status for this country.
US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said they were “determined to continue to increase the cost” inflicted on Russia. , according to a statement issued Monday by the White House after a videoconference.
A possible embargo on Russian gas and oil was mentioned on this occasion, but Joe Biden “has not made a decision at this stage,” said Washington.
Russia has warned of the “catastrophic consequences” such a move would have for the global market.
The European Union also launched the procedure on Monday to examination of membership applications from Ukraine, Georgia and Moldovafiled last week, which could further heighten tensions with Moscow.
These three former Soviet republics feel threatened by Russia’s territorial claims and claim a foothold in the West. Several member states have supported their approach, but the procedure is long and EU membership requires unanimity.