Ukraine deputy PM says several humanitarian corridors to open

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says she is hoping several humanitarian corridors would operate Saturday for thousands of civilians in cities under Russian siege, including Mariupol which has suffered from sustained shelling.

Vereshchuk says some 13 such corridors are set to operate.

“Today, a convoy with humanitarian cargo and buses for the evacuation of people (…) is departing from the city of Zaporizhzhia to the city of Mariupol, Donetsk Region, through the following populated localities: Zaporizhzhia, Melitopol, Vasylivka, Berdyansk, Mangush, Mariupol, with mandatory mine sweeping along the entire route,” she says in a video address cited by CNN.

“I hope that the day will go well, all the planned routes will be open and Russia will fulfill its obligations to guarantee the ceasefire regime,” she adds.

Repeated evacuation efforts failed this week amid reports that Russia targets the humanitarian corridors.

On Tuesday, some 60 buses in two convoys were able to evacuate civilians out of Sumy, 350 kilometers (220 miles) east of Kyiv, Kyrylo Timoshenko of the Ukraine president’s office told local media.