Russia to urge UN create aid corridors in East Ukraine

Russia is to submit a draft resolution to the UN Security Council (UNSC), calling for the creation of aid corridors in eastern Ukraine to allow civilians trapped in the country’s conflict-ridden areas to escape.

Speaking at a news conference in the capital Moscow on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow is planning to put forward the draft later on the day.

Lavrov pointed out that the resolution will urge an immediate end to the current violence in Ukraine.

“This draft resolution will [also] contain a requirement to immediately create humanitarian corridors that will help civilians leave hostility zones, should they wish so,” he added.

The top Russian diplomat further criticized the Western countries, saying their assurances that the situation in Ukraine would improve after a May 25 presidential election have not come true while “everything is happening [in the country] in exactly the opposite way.”

He also raised concerns over the Ukrainian army’s clampdown on pro-Moscow protesters in Ukraine, saying people are dying “everyday” but the Western media keep mum on the situation.

“Unfortunately, most Western media keep silent about this information and show different pictures,” he stated.

Ukraine’s mainly-Russian speaking parts in the east have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Moscow forces and the army for weeks now.

In the latest incident, several Ukrainian government troops were wounded earlier on Monday in an attack by pro-Russia protesters on a border guard camp near the volatile eastern city of Lugansk.

Ukraine’s border guard service said some 100 armed men ambushed the camp and the Ukrainian soldiers responded by opening fire on the assailants, whose numbers increased to 400 in a few hours’ time.