Russia continue to Shell Ukrainian Cities

[Postmaster]

BOOK INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS TICKETS LOCAL FLIGHTS HOTELS BOOKINGS WORLDWIDE AND MORE AT CHEAPEST RATE EVER! CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FLIGHT AND RECEIVE YOUR FLIGHT TICKET INSTANTLY

Russian forces bombarded cities in northern and southern Ukraine Monday, as Ukrainian officials warned Russia may be moving closer to storming Kyiv and Russia’s military announced the latest in yet-unfulfilled plans to establish humanitarian corridors for civilians caught amid its invasion.

Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said Russian forces were focused on encircling Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Mykolayiv. A statement Monday accused Russia of violating international humanitarian law by shelling civilians and of creating a humanitarian crisis in occupied areas.

A Russian defense ministry statement said that for “humanitarian purposes,” Russian forces would declare a “regime of silence” beginning Monday to open corridors for people to leave Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy and Mariupol. Those who leave Kyiv will be airlifted to Russia the statement said. The statement added the move was in response to a direct request from French President Emmanuel Macron to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian officials rejected Russia’s plan, in particular evacuation paths that would send people to Russia and Belarus.

“This is not an acceptable option,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereschchuk said.

“‘Humanitarian corridors’ will only work if they give safe and agreed passage to places where the evacuees feel safe and of their choosing,” said Norwegian Refugee Council Secretary General Jan Egeland. “This is a basic lesson from Syria where ‘corridors’ often were not used because they led to areas no one felt safe.”

More than 1.7 million refugees have fled Ukraine, according to data from the U.N. refugee agency, with more than 1 million of those going west to Poland. Data for Russia and Belarus was last updated late last week but showed just more than 50,000 people going to those countries.