The ceasefire reportedly includes safe evacuation routes into Russia, a plan Ukraine calls “unacceptable.’
Russia on Monday announced another ceasefire agreement for Ukraine and several designated, so-called “humanitarian” corridors to allow residents to flee the country, but Russian forces continued to attack major Ukrainian cities with rockets and other military tactics in a now 12-day-long invasion.
An attempt this weekend to broker a ceasefire failed almost as quickly as it was announced, amid reports of Russian rocket attacks near the corridors, leading to Poland and other bordering Eastern European willing to provide food and shelter to refugees.
However, the Russian Defense Ministry announced a new attempt Monday, saying civilians will be able to leave the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Sumy.
An estimated 1.7 million people have already fled Ukraine.
The last ceasefire proposal included an offer from Russia that included evacuation routes that primarily led into Russia and Belarus, a country that was used as a launching ground for troops during the invasion.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk called the proposal “unacceptable.”
The new agreement to establish humanitarian corridors arrives following a Sunday conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron, who reportedly requested a broader end to military operations.
