Russia declares limited ceasefire in 2 Ukrainian cities, opens corridors for civilians' exit

Russia declared a partial ceasefire on Saturday to allow humanitarian corridors out of the two Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha, Russia's defence ministry said.

"From 10am Moscow time (0700 GMT), the Russian side declares a ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to leave Mariupol and Volnovakha," Russian news agencies quoted the Russian defence ministry as saying.

In Mariupol, citizens would be allowed to leave during a five-hour window, it quoted the city's officials as saying.

There was no immediate confirmation that firing had stopped and it was not clear if the ceasefire would be extended to other areas, or how long it would last, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine entered into its tenth day.

The Russian defence ministry said a broad offensive would continue in Ukraine, RIA said.

Aid agencies menahile have warned of an unfolding humanitarian disaster as food, water and medical supplies run short and refugees stream into western Ukraine and neighbouring European countries.

Earlier on Thursday, both sides reached an understanding on creating humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said the two sides envisaged a possible temporary ceasefire to allow for the evacuation of civilians.

"That is, not everywhere, but only in those places where the humanitarian corridors themselves will be located, it will be possible to ceasefire for the duration of the evacuation," he said.

They had also reached an understanding on the delivery of medicines and food to the places where the fiercest fighting was taking place.

When clarifying the developments unfolding, the Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population.

It was the first time the two sides had agreed to any form of progress on any issue since Russia invaded Ukraine a week ago.

Podolyak said the outcome had fallen short of Kyiv's hopes, however.

"To our great regret, we did not get the results we were counting on," he said, without elaborating.

"The only thing I can say is that we discussed the humanitarian aspect in sufficient detail, because quite a lot of cities are now surrounded. There is a dramatic situation with medicines, food, and evacuation," Podolyak said.

Earlier, the talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations began at an undisclosed location on Ukraine's border.  

Apart from the humanitarian corridors, Ukraine had also demanded an immediate ceasefire and armistice.

Meanwhile, Russian President Putin said the Russian military has offered safe corridors to civilians to allow them to leave areas of fighting in Ukraine. 

Putin, speaking in a video call with members of his Security Council, has charged that Ukrainian nationalist groups are preventing civilians from leaving.

The Russian leader said the groups were also using civilians as shields, taking up firing positions to provoke the Russian retaliatory fire. Putin's claim couldn't be independently verified.

Information War

Russia's parliament passed a law on Friday imposing a prison term of up to 15 years for spreading intentionally "fake" news about the military.

"This law will force punishment - and very tough punishment - on those who lied and made statements which discredited our armed forces," said Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament.

Russia is blocking Facebook for restricting state-backed channels and the websites of the BBC, Deutsche Welle and Voice of America.

CNN and CBS News said they would stop broadcasting in Russia, and other outlets removed Russian-based journalists' bylines as they assessed the situation.

More Sanctions On The Way?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to press Washington for more help in a Zoom call with the full U.S. Senate at 9:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT) on Saturday.

The United States is weighing cuts to imports of Russian oil and ways to minimise the impact on global supplies and consumers as lawmakers fast-track a bill that would ban Russian energy imports. Global oil prices surged over 20% this week on fears of supply shortages, posing a risk to global economic growth.

At a meeting on Friday, NATO allies rejected Ukraine's appeal for no-fly zones, saying they were increasing support but that stepping in directly could make the situation worse.

"We have a responsibility ... to prevent this war from escalating beyond Ukraine because that would be even more dangerous, more devastating and would cause even more human suffering," said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

Zelenskiy slammed the summit as "weak" and "confused."

"It was clear that not everyone considers the battle for Europe's freedom to be the number one goal," he said.

More EU sanctions were coming, potentially including a ban on Russian-flagged ships in European ports and blocking imports of steel, timber, aluminium or coal, said Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney.

Ukraine's military said in a statement on Saturday that armed forces "are fighting fiercely to liberate Ukrainian cities from Russian occupiers," counterattacking in some areas and disrupting communications.

"Units of the invaders are demoralized, soldiers and officers of the occupying army continue to surrender, flee, leaving weapons and equipment on Ukrainian soil," it said, adding that at least 39 Russian plans and 40 helicopters had been destroyed. Reuters has not been able to independently verify such accounts.

Thousands of people waited for hours on Friday outside the railway station at the western city of Lviv to board trains heading to Poland. Families arrived with few belongings. Some were in wheelchairs, others accompanied by pet dogs and cats, uncertain about their fate.

"All we took with us is the bare necessities," said Yana Tebyakina. "A change of clothes. That's it. All the rest we left behind, all our lives stayed back at home."

Russian forces have made their biggest advances in the south, where they captured their first sizeable Ukrainian city, Kherson, this week. Bombing has worsened in recent days in the northeast cities of Kharkiv and Chernihiv.