Russia on Tuesday announced it would observe a ceasefire from 10am Moscow time (12.30pm IST) to allow for humanitarian corridors for civilians to flee from five cities.
The Russian embassy in India released a statement about the corridors from Kyiv (called Kiev by Russia), Chernigov, Sumy, Kharkiv (called Kharkov by Russia) and Mariupol.
The statement said the corridors would run from:
Kiev and adjacent settlements to the Russian Federation through the territory of the Republic of Belarus to Gomel city with delivery by air to the Russian Federation, in the southern direction...
Chernigov through the territory of the Republic of Belarus to Gomel with delivery by air transport to the Russian Federation, in the southern direction...
Sumy by two routes to Poltava and to the territory of the Russian Federation to Belgorod—then by air, rail and road transport to selected destinations or temporary accommodation, in the southern direction
Kharkov to the territory of the Russian Federation to Belgorod—then by air, rail and road transport to selected destinations or temporary accommodation, to Lvov, Uzhgorod, Ivano-Frankivsk
Mariupol by two routes to the territory of the Russian Federation to Rostov-on-Don through Novoazovsk and Taganrog cities, to Zaporozhye
On Monday, Russia had announced a ceasefire in Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol, but this was rejected by Ukraine. A spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had described Monday's ceasefire proposal as “completely immoral” and alleged Russia was trying to “use people’s suffering to create a television picture”.
The proposal for humanitarian corridors comes amid requests by world leaders, including France's Emmanuel Macron and India's Narendra Modi. Modi had raised the issue of safe passage of Indian students from Sumy in phone conversations with Zelenskyy and Russia's Vladimir Putin on Monday.