The news source recently reach Obaland correspondent about the recent push from Russia, stating that ” Moscow said on Monday it would let residents of Ukraine’s two main cities flee in corridors to Russia and Belarus, a move Ukraine called an immoral stunt to weaponise the suffering of civilians under Russian bombardment.
Both sides said the third round of talks was due at an undisclosed location in Belarus on Monday. Two previous rounds yielded little beyond pledges to open routes for humanitarian access that have yet to be successfully implemented.
Russia’s announcement of “humanitarian corridors” came after two days of failed ceasefires to allow civilians to escape the besieged city of Mariupol, where hundreds of thousands are trapped without food and water, under relentless bombardment.
According to maps published by the RIA news agency, the corridor from Kyiv would lead to Russia’s ally Belarus, while civilians from Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city, would be directed to Russia.
“Attempts by the Ukrainian side to deceive Russia and the whole civilized world … are useless this time,” the ministry said.
A spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the move “completely immoral” saying Russia was trying to “use people’s suffering to create a television picture”.
“They are citizens of Ukraine, they should have the right to evacuate to the territory of Ukraine,” the spokesperson told Reuters.
Russia’s invasion has been condemned around the world, sent more than 1.5 million Ukrainians fleeing abroad, and triggered sweeping sanctions that have abruptly isolated Russia to a degree never before experienced by such a large economy.
Global share prices plunged on Monday after Washington said it was considering extending its sanctions to Russia’s energy exports until now carved out from trade bans.
Russia is the world’s biggest exporter of oil and gas. Brent crude prices surged above $139 a barrel on Monday, the closest they have come in 14 years to the all-time high of $147. Investment banks say prices could approach $200 this year if Russian supply evaporates, with dire consequences for the global economy.
Both Russia and Ukraine are also among the world’s main exporters of grain, edible oils, and industrial metals. The war threatens to send global food prices skyrocketing and complicate industries’ recovery from the pandemic crisis.
Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians. It calls the campaign it launched on Feb. 24 a “special military operation” to disarm Ukraine and remove leaders it describes as neo-Nazis. Ukraine and its Western allies call this a transparent pretext for an invasion to conquer a nation of 44 million people.