The Russian Ministry of Defense has said it is halting its offensive at 10am local time on Saturday so residents can leave the encircled Azov Sea city of Mariupol in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). The city has been controlled by Ukrainian forces since 2014.
Another humanitarian corridor was established for the DPR town of Volnovakha, also controlled by the Ukrainians.
Moscow said that safe passages had been agreed on with Ukraine. Russians and Ukrainians met for a second round of peace talks in Belarus on Thursday.
Mikhail Podolyak, a member of Ukraine’s negotiation team, confirmed earlier that the two sides had spoken about the possibility of temporarily ceasing hostilities in order for civilians to evacuate.