Ukraine says 2,824 people evacuated Sunday

KYIV, Ukraine

A total of 2,824 Ukrainian civilians were evacuated Sunday from war zones to safe areas through humanitarian corridors, the country’s deputy prime minister announced.

"Today, 2,824 people were evacuated from dangerous areas. During the day, 2,622 people reached the city of Zaporizhia from Mariupol by personal vehicles and sent buses. Of them, 213 were evacuated from the city of Mariupol, and the rest from the cities of Polohy, Vasylivka, Melitopol and Berdyansk,” Irina Vereshchuk said in a video message.

She added that despite “constant cease-fire violations by the occupiers” in the Luhansk region, 202 people were evacuated from the cities of Lysychansk, Severodonetsk, Rubizhne, Popasna and Kreminna.

Noting that some of the buses sent for evacuation were blocked by the Russian military, Vereshchuk said they will continue to evacuate people.

Russia's war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the European Union, US and the UK, among others, implementing stringent economic penalties on Moscow.

At least 1,793 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,439 injured, according to estimates by the UN, which noted that the true figure is likely far higher.

More than 4.5 million Ukrainians have also fled to several European countries, with millions more displaced inside the country, according to the UN refugee agency.

*Writing by Seda Sevencam