Ukraine says resuming evacuations after Russian ‘provocations’

Ukraine said Tuesday it had reopened humanitarian corridors and evacuated civilians from war-scarred regions after a one-day pause over what Kyiv called possible Russian “provocations”.

“Three humanitarian corridors were agreed for today,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a video statement posted on Telegram, a day after announcing their closure citing intelligence reports.

The first corridor will be from the battered city of Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia using private cars, with Mariupol residents who had made it to Berdyansk also joining, she said.

A second corridor will travel from the Russian-occupied town of Melitopol to Zaporizhzhia.

On Monday, the evacuations of civilians was halted after Ukrainian authorities said they had intelligence reports suggested Russian troops were planning attacks on humanitarian routes.