Ukraine rejects humanitarian corridors to Russia and prepares for new attacks

Ukraine rejected on Monday the humanitarian corridors to Russia and Belarus proposed by Moscow and is preparing for new offensives in various areas of the country, including Kiev, after a night of violent bombing.

The Russian offensive, launched on February 24, has driven more than 1.5 million people out of Ukraine and many more have been displaced within the country or trapped in cities bombed by Russia. In addition, the conflict is also causing financial turbulence and a sharp increase in the price of oil and gold.

The Russian army announced this Monday morning the temporary suspension of attacks in some areas “for humanitarian purposes” and the opening of humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from Kiev, Kharkiv, the besieged port of Mariupol and the town of Sumy, near the Russian border.

But half of these corridors go to Russia and Belarus and the Ukrainian government rejected the proposal outright.

“Not an acceptable option,” said Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereschuk. Civilians evacuated from the cities of Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mariupol and Sumy “will not go to Belarus and then get on the plane and go to Russia,” she warned.

“The enemy continues the offensive operation against Ukraine, focused on surrounding Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Mykolayiv,” the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces had previously reported in a statement.

Russian forces “began to accumulate resources to attack Kyiv,” he added.

“The Russian occupiers try to concentrate their forces for a new series of attacks,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Facebook.

In the capital, Ukrainian soldiers were seen preparing for a possible Russian attack. They planted explosives on what they say is the last intact bridge in the path of the Russian forces.

“The capital is preparing to defend itself,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram app. “Kyiv will resist! He will defend himself!” he added.

On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky warned that Russia was preparing to bomb Odessa, a strategic port on the Black Sea.

In Lugansk, under the control of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, a massive explosion sparked a fire at an oil depot on Monday, according to the Russian Interfax news agency.

The missile attack on Vinnytsia airport, some 200 km southwest of Kyiv, killed five civilians and four military personnel on Sunday, according to Ukrainian rescuers.

Hundreds of civilians have lost their lives and thousands were injured in this war. To the dead is added a painful exodus to neighbouring countries that leaves images that challenge the entire world.