Ukrainian deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk has announced that nine humanitarian corridors have been agreed for Saturday. According to Reuters, evacuation plans include civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol by private cars. Five of the nine evacuation corridors were from the east, in Ukraine’s Luhansk region, which local officials have said is under heavy shelling.
Russia launched a war on Ukraine on February 24. However, according to the latest updates, at least two Ukrainians were killed overnight in Russian airstrikes on cities in the east of the country. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, says 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed, and about 10,000 injured in the conflict. Also, US media has reported senior defence officials confirming the Russian warship, Moskva, was destroyed by a Ukrainian missile strike. However, Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Shmyhal and top finance officials will visit Washington next week, according to reports. The delegation, also including finance minister Serhiy Marchenko, and central bank governor Kyrylo Shevchenko, are expected to have bilateral meetings with finance officials from Group of Seven countries and others, and would take part in a World Bank-hoste