Ukrainian officials announced that they would open seven humanitarian corridors in an attempt to get civilians away from Russia’s invading force.
The corridors will appear in an assortment of cities, according to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. They will offer residents a way to escape cities targeted by Russian forces and provide aid to those still there.
Ukraine will open multiple corridors in Mariupol, where Russian forces have targeted several civilian structures. “Buses for Mariupol residents will be waiting in the square in front of the city sports complex in Berdyansk starting from 9:30 am. Departure to Zaporizhzhia is planned at 11:00 am,” Vereshchuk said in a statement.
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At least 190,000 people have been evacuated from war zones since the beginning of the war, Vereshchuk said on Saturday. While both governments agreed to establish humanitarian corridors for civilian evacuation on March 3, both governments have blamed the other for slowing the process. Ukrainian officials criticized the corridors set initially, which led directly into either Russia or Belarus.
There have been several reports in recent days of Russian forces targeting civilians. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin accused the Russian military of focusing its military attacks on civilian structures.
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A theater housing hundreds of Ukrainian residents in Mariupol was hit by a Russian bomb on Wednesday, burying all within under piles of rubble. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that authorities had evacuated 130 survivors from the site as of Friday. Ukrainian officials have also accused Russia of bombing an art school in Mariupol housing 400 civilians, although they have not been able to confirm the death count as of Sunday.
