Ukrainian authorities refuse to “evacuate” Ukrainians to Russia, insist on alternative routes

Monday, 7 March 2022, 11:13

Ukraine called the "evacuation" of people to Russia and Belarus proposed by the aggressor state unacceptable and demanded that they support evacuation routes from Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhia to the western regions of Ukraine.

Source: Iryna Vereshchuk, Head of the Ministry of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, during a briefing

Quote from Vereshchuk: "Yesterday at 12:30 a.m., we received a letter from the Russian Federation in which, taking into account the personal request of French President Macron, they proposed declaring a ceasefire from 10 a.m. on March 7 and opening the following humanitarian corridors:

From Kyiv – Kyiv, Hostomel, Rakivka, Sosnivka, Ivankiv, Orene, Chornobyl, Gden, Gomel – with subsequent transportation by air to the Russian Federation.

From Kharkiv: Kharkiv, Nekhotieievka, Belgorod, then further inland by rail and car.

From Sumy: Sumy, Sudzha, Belgorod, then further inland by rail and car.

This is an unacceptable way to open humanitarian corridors. Our people will not go from Ivankiv, from Dymer, Vyshgorod, from the suburbs of Kyiv to Belarus in order to fly to Russia afterwards."

Details: Ukraine responded with its vision of what the humanitarian corridors should look like.

According to Vereshchuk, the evacuation should take place to Ukrainian cities, such as Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia or Kharkiv, and then go by trains to Lviv, Uzhhorod and Ivano-Frankivsk.

Previously: The Russian Ministry of Defense gave assurances that it was opening "humanitarian corridors" from Ukraine to Belarus and the Russian Federation, and also announced a ceasefire from 10:00 (from 9:00 Kyiv time) on March 7.