A 12-hour ceasefire will begin at 9am, local time, in order to allow evacuation corridors for Ukrainians fleeing besieged cities. Meanwhile, the US, UK and EU have all committed to phasing out imports of Russian oil and gas, and several global brands including McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Starbucks have agreed to close Russian operations. The credit agency Fitch has downgraded the country’s credit rating to ‘C’, one step above defaulting on its international loans.
According to Russian state media, Russia’s military announced a ceasefire and opening of humanitarian corridors in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy and Mariupol, to come into effect from 10am Moscow time on Monday. The statement cited a request by the French President Emmanuel Macron to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Previous attempts to allow citizens to evacuate besieged Mariupol failed after reports the ceasefire had been broken for a second consecutive day, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.