A freelance journalist, who is situated in Kyiv, has hit back at Russia's offer of setting up humanitarian corridors for Ukrainian residents to go into Russia and Belarus, decrying it as a "PR stunt".
Oz Katerji, a freelance conflict journalist and filmmaker currently reporting from Ukraine, made an appearance on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday (February 8).
Al Jazeera reported Russia’s announcement early on Monday of a plan to create “humanitarian corridors” for civilians to evacuate Kharkiv, Mariupol and the capital, Kyiv - following two days of failed ceasefires to allow civilians to escape the besieged city of Mariupol.
Speaking on the issue Katerji discussed how Ukrainians don't trust the evacuation corridors.
Moscow will declare a silence regime and will open evacuation corridors in several cities to allow people to escape. But most of the evacuation routes offered by Moscow are into Russia. @OzKaterji says Ukrainians don't trust the evacuation corridors and that it's a PR stunt. pic.twitter.com/Dw1ZwdEZNF
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 8, 2022
He said: "Russia is the enemy of the people of Ukraine, there's no disputing that. Russia has invaded Ukraine, it's targeted civilians, it's murdering civilians.
"[Through] the 'humanitarian corridors' it opens it intends to target and kill civilians leaving through those corridors.
"This is a PR stunt meant solely for the people of Russia, so that Russia can convince their own people that they're out here fighting for good rather than butchering human beings."
Katerji went on to add that Russia has employed the strategy of so-called "humanitarian corridors" before in Syria, where after besieging a town Russia would allow the civilians to leave before "shelling" these corrdiors.
He added: "It's to cause fear, terror, it's to break the will of the population."
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