The ceasefire began this Thursday in the city of Mariupol, with the aim of opening a humanitarian corridor and taking out civilians. Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defence Control Centre, reported on the decision. However, the Ukrainian authorities did not entirely rely on the words of Moscow and claim that the Putin Army will continue to bomb the Donbass region.

The idea is to evacuate civilians from Mariupol to Zaporizhia, and along the way, those who flee will make a stop in the city of Berdiansk. The Government of Ukraine has sent 45 buses to the site: "We will do our best to get buses to Mariupol today and welcome people who have not yet been able to leave the city," said Mizintseven. In recent weeks, thousands of citizens have left the city, as they can and risk their lives.

Second phase: Donbass Liberation

Russian forces have been besieging the town of Mariupol in Ukraine for more than three weeks after taking control of the Azov Sea. Mariupol is located in the Donetsk region, southeast of Ukraine. The territory of Donbass is important to both sides and the bloody Donbass War began in 2014, which lasted for a few months. Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski has described Russia’s latest attacks on the city of Mariupol as crimes against humanity. There are thousands of people who have died in the city in recent weeks.

On 25 March, Russia ended the "first phase" of the invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February. The Army Deputy Chief, Serguei Rudskoi, made the news public: Its main objectives are "fulfilled", including that Russia controls the Azov Sea, the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, the Chernobyl and Zaporizhia nuclear power plants, and the Kiev, Chernigiv, Kharkiv, Sumi and Mikolaiv regions. As for the opening of the second phase, he noted that "the main objective" is to "free Donbass" from the city.

Negotiations between Ukraine and Russia focus on the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine. The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinski, said at the end of the last meeting that Moscow's initial position on Donbass and Crimea was "immovable": Let Kiev acknowledge the independence of the people’s republics of Luhanks and Donetsk, as well as Crimea’s membership of Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged on 21 February the independence of the popular republics of Luhanks and Donetsk, increasing the indignation of Ukraine and the West. The vast majority of voters declared themselves independent of Ukraine in the referendum held in 2014 in both territories. Since then, the war has erupted between Ukraine and those republics.