KIEV: As the war in Ukraine entered its 15th day, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that his country is preparing to open six additional humanitarian corridors for the safe evacuation of civilians trapped in Russian-occupied cities.

The President said in his latest video address that on Wednesday, "we organised the work of three humanitarian corridors" connecting the cities of Sumy, Kiev, and Energodar, resulting in the evacuation of more than 35,000 people, as per the online Ukrainian Pravda newspaper. "We are in the process of preparing to open six corridors. We pray for the evacuation of residents from Mariupol, Izyum, and Volnovakha... We intend to transport them to safe cities within our independent Ukraine "he continued.

The authorities said, approximately 5,000 people have been evacuated from Sumy, which has been heavily bombarded by Russia, the BBC reported. They added that the city's three humanitarian corridors are scheduled to open at 9 a.m. (approximately 12 p.m. IST) on Thursday. Additionally, over 40,000 women and children were evacuated from the towns of Irpin and Vorzel on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the National Police Service said that several thousand people were evacuated from Kiev's Bucha region. On the outskirts of Kiev, where an emergency camp has been established, those evacuated have been provided with warm food and tea, Ukrainska Pravda reports, citing authorities. Medical assistance was also provided, as well as additional relocation directions.

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