Facts about Russia-Ukraine conflict: Zelensky says Ukraine won't agree to "frozen conflict" with Russia

BEIJING, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kiev will not agree to any deal that would lead to a "frozen conflict" with Russia, the Ukrinform news agency reported on Wednesday.

"We will not settle for a frozen conflict ... I am against it. We will definitely not have such a document," Zelensky said.

Zelensky said that the Minsk agreements, which had put an end to the intense military stage of the Donbass conflict several years ago, proved to be ineffective.

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The Russian military announced on Wednesday that it will open a humanitarian corridor from Thursday to Saturday for the evacuation of civilians from the blocked Azovstal plant in Ukraine's Mariupol.

The corridor will be effective from 08:00 to 18:00 Moscow time (0500 to 1500 GMT) in the three days, the Joint Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Response said in a statement.

During this period, Russian troops and the forces of Donetsk will unilaterally cease hostilities and ensure the withdrawal of civilians both to Russia and to areas controlled by Ukraine, it added.

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Two villages in Russia's Belgorod Region were shelled from Ukrainian territory, said regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov on Thursday.

The shelling has now stopped. Several power lines were damaged along with five houses, said the governor, noting there were no civilian casualties.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that his government has launched a global platform entitled United24 for collecting charitable donations in support of Ukraine.

According to the platform's official website, funds raised through the initiative will be transferred to the official accounts of the National Bank of Ukraine and allocated by assigned ministries to cover Ukraine's needs.

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Russia has announced the expulsion of seven Danish diplomats in a retaliatory move, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

The Ambassador of Denmark to Russia Carsten Sondergaard was summoned to the ministry in protest over Denmark's decision to declare 15 Russian employees working at the Russian Embassy in Denmark and the Russian Trade Representation in Copenhagen "personae non gratae" and Denmark's military support to Kiev, according to the ministry.