As the horrific plight of the Ukrainian people continues following the Russian invasion of their homeland, attention has turned to how those fleeing can get out of the country.
Russia has come under increasing accusations, including from Ukraine, that its forces have been firing on non-military targets sparking fears about the danger posed to Ukrainian citizens.
The United Nations (UN) has reported that around 1.5 million people have fled the country since the invasion started. However, many more people are believed to be trapped by the violence.
On March 7, 2022, Russia announced it would be opening ‘humanitarian corridors’ that would allow civilians to flee the violence safely - but what are humanitarian corridors and how has the offer been received by Ukraine and the west?
What is a humanitarian corridor?
A humanitarian corridor is designed as a demilitarised zone that would allow people out safely, with the aim of reducing the number of civilians killed or wounded by attacks on cities.
They are set up as a way of reducing civilian casualties during war.
Civilians have been trapped by Russian bombardment, Reuters reports. The corridors would allow a specific, safe route for them out of besieged positions.
The corridors would effectively be a safe route where Russian forces would hold fire, an idea first requested by French President Emmanuel Macron, according to the Interfax news agency.
The latest offer from Russia includes a corridor from the city of Mariupol, where Reuters report hundreds of thousands have been trapped without food or water and unable to evacuate people wounded by the fighting.
The corridors would be opened from the cities of Mariupol, Kyiv, Kharkiv and Sumy. However, the corridors have caused alarm because, according to maps published by the RIA news agency and seen by Reuters, they only lead to two places: Russia and Belarus.
Why have Russia’s humanitarian corridors been criticised?
A spokesperson for the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky branded the move as “completely immoral” and blamed Russia for trying to "use people's suffering to create a television picture".
They added: "They are citizens of Ukraine, they should have the right to evacuate to the territory of Ukraine".
"This is one of the problems that is causing the humanitarian corridors to break down. They seem to agree to them, but they themselves want to supply humanitarian aid for a picture on TV, and want the corridors to lead in their direction."
Speaking on BBC Breakfast The Europe Minister, James Cleverly, said the offer was “cynical beyond belief”, criticising the corridors as "routes into the arms of the country that is currently destroying yours".
