UKRAINIAN president Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of “cynicism” and “propaganda” over Moscow’s widely criticised proposals for so-called humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from besieged Ukrainian cities.

Zelenskyy made the remarks in a video shot inside his Kyiv office and published early on Tuesday. He appeared to have filmed the first part of the video with a handheld camera while standing in front of the window of his office in Kyiv’s Bankova Street before sitting down at his desk in front of a Ukrainian flag.

Russia on Monday proposed a ceasefire and a series of routes to safety for Ukrainians trapped in Mariupol, Volnovakha, and other southern and eastern cities under heavy Russian bombardment.

However, Ukraine and humanitarian officials dismissed the plan before it was implemented as some of the routes led to cities in western Russia and Belarus.

“There was an agreement on humanitarian corridors,” Zelenskyy said. “Did this agreement work? Russian tanks and mines worked instead.” The Ukrainian president accused Russia of proposing the corridors “for its propagandists” and “their TV cameras”.