France's Macron accuses Putin of 'mocking' morality with Ukrainian corridors into Russia

By Yusuf Ozcan

PARIS (AA) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of “mocking” morality by offering humanitarian corridors for Ukrainian civilians to leave, but only to go to Russia or Russian-backed Belarus.

Speaking to LCI television, Macron accused Putin of hypocrisy after Moscow said it would open humanitarian corridors to allow the evacuation of civilians from several Ukrainian cities, but only to Russia or Belarus, where Russian troops crossed the border into Ukraine on Feb. 24 to start the war.

"All this is not serious, it is moral and political cynicism, which I find intolerable," he said. Macron added that promises to protect civilians so that they could merely flee towards Russia were "hypocritical."

Russia announced early Monday that it would declare a "temporary" cease-fire in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the cities of Mariupol, Kharkiv, and Sumy from 10 a.m. local time (0700GMT) to ensure the evacuation of civilians.

Russia's war on Ukraine has been met with outrage from the international community, with the European Union, Britain, and US, among others, imposing a range of economic sanctions on Moscow.

At least 364 civilians have been killed and 759 others injured in Ukraine since Russia launched a war against the Eastern European country on Feb. 24, according to UN figures, with the real toll feared to be higher.

More than 1.7 million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, according to the UN refugee agency.