Catch up on Ukraine: Key developments you need to know

A total of 4,217 civilians evacuated through corridors in Ukraine on Saturday, according to the country’s deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk.

In a statement on Telegram, Vereshchuk said 1,263 people from the besieged city of Mariupol and the Russian-held city of Berdiansk reached the Ukrainian government-held city of Zaporizhzhia using their own vehicles. 

An evacuation convoy of 10 buses from the city of Berdiansk with more than 300 Mariupol residents also passed Vasylivka en route to Zaporizhzhia, she said. 

Evacuations also continued in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, with a total of 2,650 people leaving the cities of Severodonetsk, Rubizhne, Lysychansk, Kreminna, Popasna and Nyzhne, Vereshchuk said. 

Vereshchuk said 17 buses reached the city of Berdiansk from Zaporizhzhia and were expected Sunday morning to continue the evacuation of Mariupol residents. Some of the buses will try to reach closer to Mariupol, she added.

Mariupol, which is ringed by Russian checkpoints, has been under weeks of intense bombardment. Ukrainian officials have described the situation there for the remaining residents as a major humanitarian emergency.