
The Ukrainian military has agreed to a 12-hour ceasefire with Russia on Wednesday to allow civilians to escape through humanitarian corridors, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
Vereshchuk added that Prime Minister Denys Shmygal would be talking to the International Committee of the Red Cross Wednesday about the proposed routes for the ceasefire, which runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m local time.
"I appeal to the Russian Federation: you have made a formal public commitment," she said.
Vereshchuk said the ceasefire would allow civilians to escape through "green corridors" in the following areas:
- Energodar-Zaporizhia
- Sumy-Poltava
- Mariupol-Zaporizhia
- Volnovakha-Pokrovsk
- Izium-Lozova
- Vorzel, Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka, Gostomel-Kyiv
Vereshchuk highlighted two routes in particular — the evacuation of civilians from the port city of Mariupol and the eastern town of Volnovakha, both of which have been surrounded by Russian forces for several days.
"The residents of Volnovakha turn to me and ask me to get the promise of the Russian Federation today fulfilled, people have to be able to leave the places where they are now hiding from the hail of GRADs [rockets] and the devastating fire that is killing them," she said.
Vereshchuk said there would also be a special operation to evacuate an orphanage near Kyiv, in the suburb of Vorzel. She said there were 55 children and 26 staff members there.