Ukraine said Saturday the evacuation of Mariupol residents was delayed on Saturday due to Russia's violation of the ceasefire.

Also Read: Russia declares ceasefire to evacuate civilians from Ukraine's Mariupol

Earlier Saturday, Russia announced a ceasefire to allow civilians to be evacuated from two cities in eastern Ukraine, one of which is the besieged strategic port of Mariupol, after consultations between Kyiv and Moscow.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said that “the Russian side declares a regime of silence and opens humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilians from Mariupol and Volnovakha," starting today, March 5, at 07:00 GMT.

Also Read: Mariupol authorities not letting residents pass through humanitarian corridors: Lavrov

For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that there is information that the Mariupol authorities are refusing to give residents the opportunity to pass through the humanitarian corridors, according to Russia Today (RT).

"The impression is that the Ukrainian regime is deliberately holding foreigners and civilians as hostages," Lavrov added.

He continued, "There is information that the Kherson authorities refused to accept humanitarian aid from Russia, and this is similar to the methods of the Kyiv regime."

Lavrov noted that the Russian army did everything in its power to ensure the functioning of the humanitarian corridors in Ukraine.

The minister noted that the Russian forces are ready to help evacuate foreign students from Kharkov, but the Ukrainian side prevented this.

He noted that since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia has shown its willingness to provide humanitarian corridors.