Ukraine says over 2,600 civilians evacuated from war zones Sunday

By Bahtiyar Abdulkerimov

KYIV, Ukraine (AA) – A total of 2,694 Ukrainian civilians were evacuated Sunday from war zones to safe areas through humanitarian corridors, the country’s deputy prime minister announced.

Irina Vereshchuk said on Telegram that in the last 24 hours, 469 Mariupol residents traveled with their vehicles through humanitarian corridors from Mariupol and Berdyansk to Zaporizhzhia, while a bus convoy carrying more than 350 people from Mariupol and Berdyansk that passed through Russian army checkpoints have reached Zaporizhia.

She reported that 1,467 civilians from the towns of Lisichansk, Severodonetsk, Rubizhne and Kreminna in the Luhansk region were taken to a safe zone and 408 civilians who left Berdyansk on 10 buses reached the zone.

Another seven buses accompanied by a delegation from the International Committee of the Red Cross arrived in the city of Manhush, she said, adding that negotiations are underway on the transfer of these buses to Mariupol for the evacuation of civilians.

The Russian war against Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the European Union, US and UK among others implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,417 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,038 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.

More than 4.1 million Ukrainians have also fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.

*Writing by Merve Berker