A woman looks at a shelled house at the village of Velyka Dymerka, east of Kyiv, on March 9, 2022.
(ARIS MESSINIS / AFP)
KYIV – Ukraine and Russia have agreed upon six humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on Wednesday, citing Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.
Vereshchuk said the conflicting sides will cease hostilities to evacuate civilians from Energodar town in southern Ukraine; Sumy city in the northeastern part of the country; Mariupol, Izum and Volnovakha cities in eastern Ukraine; and seven cities and towns around Kyiv.
The war must end. We must sit down at the negotiating table.
Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine president
The ceasefire will last from 9 am local time (0700 GMT) to 9 pm local time (1900 GMT) Wednesday, Vereshchuk said.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict with Russia.
"The war must end. We must sit down at the negotiating table," Zelensky was quoted as saying by Interfax-Ukraine.
The talks should be "honest, objective, in the interests of the people," he said in a video message on Tuesday night.
Ukrainian and Russian delegations have held three rounds of peace talks in Belarus since last week.
On Thursday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is set to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Turkey.
Ceasefire 'on the table'
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he will discuss a ceasefire with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov at the upcoming meeting, the UNN news agency reported.
"The cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of Russian forces from the territory of Ukraine are on the table," Kuleba said.
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He emphasized the need to hold a dialogue with Russia to stop the conflict in Ukraine and save the lives of the Ukrainian people.
On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Kuleba and Lavrov will meet in Turkey's southern province of Antalya on Thursday, on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum.
