Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Russia declares cease-fire for evacuation of civilians from Mariupol and Volnovakha

Chernihiv, Ukraine, March 2022
Photo: Olexander Mayshev

Many towns in Ukraine are under heavy Russian fire. Once again, Kyiv is under missile attack. Pressure is worst in the Southern part of the country which is on the Black Sea.

Meanwhile, the Russian forces have declared a “regime of silence” as of 9 AM Bulgarian time, the Ministry of Defence has announced. Russia’s TASS news agency reports, that Russia is opening humanitarian corridors for the withdrawal of civilians from the towns of Mariupol and Volnovakha in Donetsk region.

The port city of Mariupol in the Southeast, which has been under siege since Thursday, is besieged and under fire. The city’s mayor Vadim Boychenko called for a humanitarian corridor. The city’s electricity, water, food and heating have been cut off, with food running out. Mariupol is of strategic importance because control of the city would create a land corridor between Crimea and the Russia-supported regions Luhansk and Donetsk.

Meanwhile, foreign media outlets, among them the BBC and CNN, stated they are stopping their reporting from Russia, after Vladimir Putin endorsed a draft law criminalizing, and introducing up to 15 years of imprisonment for spreading “false news” about Russia’s military operations. Russia banned the social network Facebook and blocked access to Twitter and YouTube. A number of Western companies, among them Microsoft, Samsung, Chanel have stopped sales in Russia.

Tens of thousands of people came out into the streets of Tbilisi and Prague in support of Ukraine, and President Zelensky made an address by video link. “All of you are Ukrainians today,” he said, addressing Europe. Anti-war protests took place in Frankfurt, Vilnius, Lyon, Bratislava, Lisbon, London, Seoul, Jakarta and many other towns and cities. Today. Volodymyr Zelensky is to address the US Senate by video link.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi stated that the number of Ukrainian refugees is close to 1.5 million, and is quickly growing.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Dairy processors: Mark-up on dairy products reaches 100%

A day before the boycott of supermarket chains due to high prices announced for February 13, the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association and the Association of Dairy Processors signaled that over the past year the mark-up on dairy products has..

published on 2/12/25 5:48 PM

Ferry line to be launched between Tutrakan and Oltenița

The mayor of Tutrakan, Dimitar Stefanov, and the mayor of the Romanian town of Oltenitsa, Mihăiță Beștea, have signed documents urging the two municipalities to work together to launch a ferry line across the Danube. The first services are expected to..

published on 2/12/25 5:39 PM
Borislav Gutsanov, Kristian Vigenin and Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha attending the conference at the Russian embassy

Accusations against minister of labour and social policy for attending conference organized by Russian embassy

A photograph in the media of Minister of Labour and Social Policy Borislav Gutsanov (Bulgarian Socialist Party), MEP Kristian Vigenin (Bulgarian Socialist Party) and former PM Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha attending a conference, organized by the Russian..

published on 2/12/25 3:32 PM