Russia to open humanitarian corridors from Mariupol on Monday

By Davit Kachkachishvili

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Sunday that as of Monday morning, humanitarian aid corridors will be opened from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, the director of the Russian National Center for Defense Management, made evaluations about the humanitarian aid corridors in Ukraine and said that as of 10 a.m. Moscow time (0700GMT), they will be opened from Mariupol to the east and west.

Mizintsev called on the parties to the cease-fire to comply with the decision starting at 09:30 a.m. (0630GMT).

According to UN estimates, at least 902 civilians have been killed and around 1,459 injured in Ukraine since Russia launched a war on its western neighbor on Feb. 24.

The UN has said the real figures are likely to be much higher as conditions on the ground make verification difficult.

UN data shows that over 3.38 million refugees have fled from Ukraine since the war began, with more than 2 million taken in by neighboring Poland, close to 530,000 by Romania and over 362,000 by Moldova.

Some 6.5 million people are estimated to be internally displaced in the country.