Civilians unable to evacuate Ukraine's Mariupol amid Russia's attacks

By Ruslan Rehimov

KYIV, UKRAINE (AA) - Civilians were unable to leave the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Thursday after it was besieged by Russian forces amid a cease-fire, according to authorities.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk gave details at a news conference about evacuations conducted in the last two days from humanitarian corridors in cities.

She said 60,000 civilians were evacuated in the direction of Poltava in the Sumi region and approximately 3,000 were transported to safe areas from Izyum.

Vereshchuk stated that approximately 20,000 civilians were evacuated from Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin and other areas of the capital, Kyiv.

"A humanitarian disaster is ongoing in Mariupol. We are not allowed to evacuate civilians. The situation is the same in Volnovaha," she said.

At least 549 civilians have been killed and 957 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's war on Feb. 24, according to UN figures.

More than 2.1 million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries, recent data from the UN Refugee Agency showed.