Moscow / Kiev. The Russian military has ordered a ceasefire in the humanitarian corridors in the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Volnovoka. The ceasefire will take effect at 8:00 am (CET) so that civilians can leave the besieged cities, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday, according to the Interfox agency. “Humanitarian corridors and routes have been agreed with the Ukrainian side,” the ministry said in Moscow.

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Vadim Poytchenko, mayor of Mariupol, expressed hope that a humanitarian corridor would be set up in the city of 440,000 on Saturday night and that a ceasefire would be declared. The humanitarian walkway was aimed at bringing food and medicine into the city and repairing vital infrastructure.

Ukraine and Russia blame each other

The mayor was talking about the siege of the city. Even on the ninth day of the war, Ukrainian forces would not have allowed “invaders” into the city. The city has been plagued by “incessant attacks” from the Russian side for five days. Residents previously said they had no water, electricity or gas.

During talks in western Belarus on Thursday, a Russian and Ukrainian delegation acknowledged humanitarian corridors in Ukraine’s particularly hard-fought areas. On Friday, however, the warring factions accused each other of blocking civilian escape routes.