New humanitarian corridors set to open in Ukraine

Ukrainian officials are reluctant.

New humanitarian corridors are expected to open in order to help civilians escape besieged cities in Ukraine, according to RTE. Russia has declared that routes would open in five cities that their forces have been attacking despite Ukraine insisting that they are not genuine in allowing civilians to flee. A humanitarian corridor is a term used for a temporary demilitarised zone intended to allow for the safe transit of humanitarian aid or the movement of refugees. Accusing Russia of bombing one corridor, the Ukrainian defence ministry wrote on Facebook: "Such actions are nothing other than a genocide." A senior Ukrainian official has said that Ukraine needs to hold off Russian attacks for another seven to 10 days to deny them claiming a victory, with more than two million civilians having already fled the country. Vadym Denysenko, the adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, said that Russia is most likely targeting Mariupol or Kyiv as they look to claim some sort of victory. Regional governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyy has said that around 5,000 people were evacuated from the northeastern city of Sumy yesterday while 1,000 cars also managed to escape as the corridor is continuing to function today. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Roderic O'Gorman has said that there has been a huge surge in Irish support for Ukrainian people coming here for safety. Speaking on RTE's Morning Ireland, he said that the Department of Foreign Affairs is in contact with around 50 Irish citizens who are still in Ukraine and is offering them consular support. He said: "We've had about maybe 2,200 people, Ukrainian refugees, arrive in Ireland since the 26th of February and of those about two-thirds are being housed with family members. "We are right now looking at sourcing hotel accommodation and we've significantly expanded our capacity of hotel accommodation for [the] short term."