THE Russian Defence Ministry announced a local ceasefire today to allow civilians to be evacuated from Ukraine’s besieged port city of Mariupol. 

A humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, via the Russian-controlled port of Berdiansk, will be open from 10am (0700 GMT), the ministry said yesterday. 

“For this humanitarian operation to succeed, we propose to carry it out with the direct participation of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),” the ministry statement said. 

The Russian ministry asked Kyiv to guarantee the “unconditional respect” for the ceasefire through written notification to the Russian side, the UNHCR and ICRC before 6am (0300 GMT) today. 

Moscow also asked the Ukrainian army to commit to ensure the security of the bus convoys along the designated corridor. 

The ministry also said it had agreed to a proposal from Kyiv to open in the last 24 hours four new humanitarian corridors from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia. – AFP, March 31, 2022.