More than 4,300 people evacuated over past 24 hours in Ukraine: Top official

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) - At least 4,354 people have been evacuated from Ukrainian cities over the past 24 hours through humanitarian corridors, Ukraine's deputy prime minister announced Monday.

A total of 3,854 people from the besieged cities of Mariupol and Berdyansk reached southeastern Zaporizhzhia city in their own transport and evacuation buses, Iryna Vereshchuk, who is also a minister for reintegration of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, said in a statement on Instagram.

She claimed that for the third day in a row, "the occupiers" are violating agreements to ensure the passage of a convoy of buses from Zaporizhzhia to evacuate people from Berdyansk, Tokmak and Enerhodar, adding the Russian forces keep them at the checkpoint in Vasylivka city in the Zaporizhzhia region of southern Ukraine.

Vereshchuk said that despite the "constant" cease-fire violations by the "occupiers," over 500 people were evacuated from the cities of Lysychansk, Severodonetsk, Rubizhne, Kreminna and Popasna in the eastern Luhansk region.

Russia's war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global companies from Russia.

At least 1,842 civilians have been killed and 2,493 injured in Ukraine since Russia declared war on Feb. 24, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be much higher.

Over 4.5 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.​​​​