UPDATED: Governor of Ukraine’s Kyiv region says evacuations ongoing

LVIV, Ukraine, March 12 (Reuters) – Evacuations of civilians from frontline towns in Ukraine’s Kyiv region were proceeding on Saturday and are planned to continue on Sunday, regional governor Oleksiy Kuleba told local media.

“We will try to get people out every day, as long as it’s possible to observe a ceasefire,” he said.

•  The governors of two Ukrainian regions, Kyiv and Donetsk, said in separate statements on Saturday Russian attacks were continuing in areas where Ukraine was trying to evacuate people and bring aid through “humanitarian corridors.”

“Humanitarian cargo is moving towards Mariupol, we will inform you how it develops … The situation is complicated, there is constant shelling,” Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told local media. “The situation is extremely difficult.”

•  Several humanitarian corridors out of Ukrainian towns and villages including from the besieged southern port of Mariupol will be open on Saturday so civilians can leave, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said, adding she hoped Russia would observe a ceasefire to allow this to take place.

She said Ukraine plans to evacuate residents of several towns and villages in the regions of Kyiv and Sumy and some other areas where there is ongoing combat.

“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,” Vereshchuk said in a video address.

Efforts to provide safe passage for residents of Mariupol have repeatedly failed this week.

Photo – A gas station, a heating station and the main heating pipe network were damaged and destroyed after being bombed in Zhytomyr, Ukraine. According to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR, over 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on 24 February. Many, however, have decided to stay and fight. EPA-EFE/MIGUEL A. LOPES