Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks as he chairs a meeting on drafting constitutional changes at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. Putin proposed a set of constitutional amendments that could keep him in power well past the end of his term in 2024.(Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
According to the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz discussed diplomatic options for resolving the Ukraine crisis, as well as the establishment of humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians.
“Various political and diplomatic efforts have been discussed, in particular a third round of talks between a Russian delegation and representatives of the Kyiv authorities, in the context of the developing situation around a special military operation to protect Donbas,” the Kremlin said in a statement, referring to eastern Ukraine.
The two leaders discussed “humanitarian elements of the situation” in Ukraine and separatist territories, according to the Kremlin.
Putin notified Scholz about plans to evacuate civilians as well as “attempts by warriors of nationalist groups” to thwart them.
On Wednesday, Russia and Ukraine agreed to open more humanitarian corridors to evacuate scared inhabitants from bombed cities, as new concerns about the Chernobyl nuclear reactor arose following a power outage.
Safe pathways were emerging out of five Ukrainian towns, including suburbs of the capital Kyiv, that had been ravaged by Russian shelling and air strikes, as battle raged on the 14th day of what the Kremlin has dubbed a “special military operation.”
