Ukraine reopens humanitarian corridors for civilians fleeing Russian shelling

Kyiv, Apr 4 (EFE).- Ukraine on Monday reopened several humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from besieged cities amid continued Russian bombardment.

Iryna Vereshchuk, the Ukrainian deputy prime minister, wrote on Telegram that the first passage will allow civilians in heavily-shelled port city of Mariupol to flee toward the city of Zaporizhzhia.

Most people will evacuate using private transport, Vereshchuk said, adding that 469 people had escaped through the corridor from the city, where some 100,000 residents remain stranded with dwindling supplies.

Meanwhile, a delegation from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is due to arrive in Mariupol to evacuate people with buses.

The Ukrainian government will also attempt to evacuate citizens from the cities of Severodonetsk, Rubizhne, Lysychansk and Popasna, all are located in the region of Luhansk, a chunk of which has been under the control of pro-Russian separatists since a 2014 uprising.

Vereshchuk accused targeting humanitarian convoys in Luhansk.

The Russian military, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, shelled the southern cities of Novovorontsovka and Marianske Sunday night, according to the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.

“Last night Novovorontsovka and Marianske were heavily shelled with multiple rocket launcher systems. No casualties,” Ukrinform cited official sources as saying.

The southern city of Mykolaiv was hit by several missiles on Monday, the city’s mayor Oleksandr Senkevych wrote in a Facebook post.

“Russian troops launched several missile attacks on our city very early this morning. We are collecting information,” the mayor said.

A missile attack was also reported in the southern port city of Odesa, Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesman for the city’s military administration, said in a statement posted to Facebook.EFE

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