Borrell calls for immediate humanitarian corridors from Azovstal in Mariupol

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell has called for humanitarian corridors from Azovstal in Mariupol to other parts of Ukraine with ceasefire guarantees, Report informs citing RBC-Ukraine that the head of European diplomacy said in a statement.

"For several weeks, the world has been witnessing Russia's brutal illegal attack on Mariupol, which resulted in widespread destruction of the city, including atrocities against civilians, under the distorted pretext of 'liberation,'" the statement reads.

"The EU supports Ukraine's call to the Kremlin to allow the safe evacuation of the civilian population of Mariupol. It is necessary to immediately create humanitarian corridors from Azovstal and other parts of the city to other parts of Ukraine with guarantees of a ceasefire," Borrell said.

It is noted that for those who deliver humanitarian assistance, free and safe access must be provided in accordance with the basic principles of human rights and international humanitarian law.

According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russia is continuing to bombard Mariupol and block Ukrainian units in the Azovstal area.