Orthodox Primates from around the world have repeatedly implored for peace and an end to the warfare.
In the latest news on Monday, Russian forces are continuing their attempts to push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainian forces are reportedly putting up “stiff resistance,” according to American officials.
The invasion began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “…special military operation.”
According to reports, Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, do not appear to have advanced closer to the capital city since coming within about 20 miles, although smaller advanced units have been fighting pitched battles with Ukrainian forces inside the capital since at least Friday.
The Russian invasion has been met by strict sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Russia’s leadership.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said Russia’s proposal on Monday to open “humanitarian corridors” for cities in Ukraine is not a genuine offer, because it offers to evacuate civilians only to Belarus or to the attacking power, Russia.
Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, called this “unacceptable”, and said the Kiev government had demanded, instead, that civilians be allowed to evacuate to other parts of Ukraine.
Conversely, Russia’s defense ministry had said it would open a corridor from towns and villages north of Kiev, but only allowing for Ukrainian civilians to travel to the Belarusian city of Gomel and to then be flown to Russia.
Moscow also offered corridors near the besieged northeast and eastern cities of Kharkov, Sumy and Mariupol, but again only allowing people to leave through the border to Russia.
The International Red Cross, which is trying to organize the evacuations, has said the current agreements are too vague and without clear understanding for routes to safety.
More than one million people fleeing Ukraine have arrived in Poland since the Russian invasion, the Polish Border Guard said on Monday.