Ukraine starts evacuation of civilians from Sumy to Poltava, including foreign students

Kyiv [Ukraine], March 8 (ANI): Ukraine on Tuesday began the evacuation of civilians from Sumy to Poltava, including foreign students after Russia declared a ceasefire amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine from 10 am (Moscow time) to provide humanitarian corridors in the cities of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol.
"We have already started the evacuation of civilians from Sumy to Poltava, including foreign students. We call on Russia to agree on other humanitarian corridors in Ukraine," tweeted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
"A humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians, including foreign students, from Sumy to Poltava has been agreed today. We call on Russia to uphold its ceasefire commitment, to refrain from activities that endanger the lives of people and to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid," added the tweet of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
The development comes following the third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Belarus on Monday, which apparently ended up in failure. In the meeting, both sides addressed the issues of civilian evacuation and the Ukrainian side assured Russia that the humanitarian corridor will start working from Tuesday.
The humanitarian corridor from Sumy started on March 8, from 10 am to 9 pm (local time). The route designated for safe passage is Sumy-Holubivka-Lokhvytsia-Lubny-Poltava.
"This is the only valid route!" tweeted Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian cargo route is Lokhvytsia-Andriyashivka-Romny-Nedryhailiv-Sumy, stated the ministry.
However, as per The Kyiv Independent, 21 civilians, including 2 children were killed in the Russian attack on Sumy. Russian forces bombed a residential neighbourhood in Sumy in the early hours of March 8. (ANI)