Ukraine’s president orders safe corridor for civilians in east

KYIV, Ukraine – Ukraine’s new president has ordered security officials to create a corridor for safe passage for civilians in the country’s east, which has been rocked for two months by a pro-Russian insurgency.

In a statement Tuesday, Petro Poroshenko ordered security agencies to organize transport and relocation to help civilians leave the affected areas.

Most of those displaced in east Ukraine, which the UN Refugee Agency estimated in May at 10,000, have not previously received aid or transport from the Kyiv government.

Poroshenko said Saturday that he would grant amnesty to any insurgents who laid down their arms and had not been involved in bloodshed, and encouraged creation of a safe corridor for rebels to go to Russia, but he ruled out negotiations with any “gangsters and killers” among them.

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