Russian Defense Ministry is ready to open humanitarian corridor for civilians from Azovstal. Iryna Vereshchuk warns of possible provocations

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated this in the message.

The department said that the Armed Forces of Russia and the "Donetsk People's Republic" from 14:00 Moscow time on April 25 "guided by purely humane principles, unilaterally stopped any military operations near Azovstal in Mariupol". And they added that they would withdraw the military units to a safe distance and ensure "the withdrawal of the specified category of citizens in any direction they choose".

The Ukrainian side, as the Russian Defense Ministry added, should indicate readiness for the start of this humanitarian operation "by raising white flags around the entire perimeter or in certain areas of Azovstal".

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk said that today Ukraine will again try to evacuate women, children and the elderly from Mariupol. Under favorable conditions, people were supposed to start evacuating around 12:00.

However, according to Vereshchuk, Russian invaders may try to establish a corridor for the evacuation of Ukrainians to Russia.

"We have just received information that invaders may try to establish their corridor for evacuation to Russia together with ours. So, please be attentive and vigilant. Do not succumb to deception and provocations. Our corridor works exclusively in the direction of Zaporizhzhya (through Mangush, Berdyansk, Tokmak, Orikhiv)", Vereshchuk emphasized.

<script async src="https://telegram.org/js/telegram-widget.js?19" data-telegram-post="vereschuk_iryna/1309" data-width="100%"></script>