Temporary Ceasefire Between Russia and Ukraine Fails... No Civilian Evacuation Conducted Either

[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The 'temporary ceasefire' and civilian evacuation promised at the second Russia-Ukraine talks on the 3rd (local time) did not take place.

According to AP, Reuters, and Sputnik news agencies, Russia and Ukraine initially promised a temporary ceasefire on the 5th, but fighting continued on major frontlines that day. Russia and Ukraine agreed to a temporary ceasefire starting at 10 a.m. (4 p.m. Korean time) and to open humanitarian corridors for civilians to evacuate from Mariupol and Volnovakha in Ukraine. This was based on the agreement reached during the second talks between the two countries on the 3rd to establish evacuation corridors and a ceasefire in those areas.

However, fighting between the two sides continued that day, and civilian evacuation did not occur.

A Ukrainian official claimed that Russian forces blocked civilian evacuation by continuing shelling and airstrikes. Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister, said in a video speech, "Russian forces are using this ceasefire to advance further in the area," adding, "We demanded that they stop."

The Mariupol city council, estimating that out of about 450,000 residents, 200,000 were expected to evacuate, also stated in a press release, "Russian forces are not honoring the ceasefire agreement and continue bombing our city and surrounding areas under the pretext of defense, delaying civilian evacuation."

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in the afternoon, "We are in talks with the parties involved to evacuate civilians affected by the conflict," and added, "Evacuations from Mariupol and Volnovakha are unlikely to begin on the 5th."

Currently, the Ukrainian government forces control the two cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha, but Russian forces are surrounding the cities and tightening the siege.

Russia blamed Ukraine for the failure of the civilian evacuation that day. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed, "Russia immediately responded to the ceasefire request, but Ukraine was using civilians as human shields to protect themselves."

Ultimately, in the afternoon, the Russian Ministry of Defense declared, "Since the Ukrainian side has not shown any willingness to influence the nationalists (government forces) or extend the ceasefire, offensive operations resumed from 6 p.m. Moscow time (midnight Korean time on the 6th)."

Hundreds of citizens gathered on Kherson Street, reportedly controlled by Russian forces, shouting slogans such as "Go home" to protest Russia's invasion. A large Russian armored unit on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv reportedly showed no significant movement that day. However, BBC reported that fighting continued on the outskirts of Kyiv, including heavy shelling in the northwestern village of Irpin.

The third round of talks between the two countries is expected to take place in a day or two, and Ukraine is "assessing how the humanitarian corridors will operate" for this purpose, said Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office who led the Ukrainian negotiation team in the first and second talks.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.