Ukraine resumes evacuations after Russian 'provocations'

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.

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".

Firefighters rescue a person from a damaged five-storey building after a shelling in the city of Severodonetsk, Luhansk region, Ukraine. (via REUTERS)

"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.

The third will leave Energodar, where the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant captured by Russian troops is located, and also head to Zaporizhzhia.

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