Vladimir Putin Urges 'Humanitarian Corridor' For Trapped Ukraine Troops

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on pro-Moscow separatists in Ukraine to open a "humanitarian corridor" to allow Ukrainian troops to escape from the rebel-held eastern town of Novoazovsk.

"I call on the rebel forces to open a humanitarian corridor for the Ukrainian troops who are surrounded, so as to avoid unnecessary casualties and to give them the opportunity to withdraw from the zone of operations," Putin said in a statement issued overnight Thursday.