The Kremlin has been accused of staging a sick stunt after telling Ukrainians who want to flee the brutal Russian invasion of their nation that they’re free to enter Russia or Vladimir Putin’s puppet state Belarus. On Monday, Russia’s defense ministry announced it would be opening supposedly safe “corridors” from several Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, that only lead to Russian or Belarusian territory. The cynical plan was immediately called out by Ukraine and its western allies. A spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the plans as “completely immoral” and accused Russia of attempting to “use people’s suffering to create a television picture.” U.K. government minister James Cleverly told BBC News that the corridor announce was “cynical beyond belief.” He added: “Providing evacuation into the arms of the country that is currently destroying yours is a nonsense.”
