Russia-Ukraine crisis: Roads in Ukraine's 'humanitarian corridor' mined, says ICRC

Refugees trying to escape the besieged Ukraine city of Mariupol using so-called humanitarian corridors were left stranded as the road they were directed towards was mined, the ICRC said on Monday.

Dominik Stillhart, director of operations at the International Committee of the Red Cross, urged both military forces to come to an immediate agreement on the exact routes and times available for those seeking safe passage out of the country.

“So far we have seen, unfortunately, only agreements in principle. But they have immediately broken down because they lack precision,” he told BBC radio.

“They lack the kind of... agreements over times, over roads, over whether people can go out or goods can come in,” he added.

“To just give you an idea, we have a team in Mariupol on the ground. They were ready yesterday (Sunday) despite the fact that it was not entirely clear what exactly the agreement was.

“As soon as they reached the first checkpoint, they realised that the road that was indicated to them was actually mined.”

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Efforts to get people out of Mariupol — the scene of ferocious fighting — collapsed for a second day running Sunday with both sides accusing each other of breaching a ceasefire agreement.

Russia said Monday it will open humanitarian corridors to allow the evacuation of civilians from several Ukrainian cities experiencing heavy fighting, including the capital Kyiv and Mariupol.

• Europe