Ukraine is planning further civilian evacuations from embattled cities in the north and east of the country, as well as in the capital Kiev.
Evacuations will mainly take place in the Sumy region near the Russian border in northern Ukraine, the deputy head of the presidential office Kyrylo Tymoshenko announced on Thursday on a Telegram news channel.
Attempts are also being made to evacutate civilians from the town of Izyum in the Kharkiv region and from the besieged cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha in the Donetsk region.
Evacuations from the embattled north-western suburbs of Kiev into the city centre are also planned, with people being told they can leave the combat zone in their own cars or take one of the provided buses.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia's proposal to open daily escape routes remained in place on Thursday, adding that the timing and specific routes would have to be determined by those in control on the ground.
