The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) does not see much benefit in the Ukraine’s war corridors of escape. “They are ineffective and usually do not work because they are too complicated,” explains Jan Egeland, head of the organization, after a trip to Ukraine. “The two armies, who do not trust each other, must agree on where the corridor should begin, which safe passage it should take, and where it should end.”
Egeland, who has overseen negotiations on these corridors in Syria in the past, therefore advocates “general humanitarian breaks for a larger area, 48 hours, 72 hours – ideally longer”, during which people can flee in any direction. Above all, the corridors are often very narrow: “There is only one street and a few hours”. A single uninformed sniper can block an entire hallway.