On Wednesday, March 16, more than 6,400 people evacuated from Mariupol arrived in Zaporizhia, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereschuk has said.

"Our convoy with food and evacuation buses was never allowed to enter Mariupol. In view of the situation, a gathering of people who got out of the blocked Mariupol to Berdiansk was organized. Now all 15 buses with Mariupol residents have arrived in Zaporizhia, where they are provided with the necessary assistance. In total, some 6,426 Mariupol residents arrived in Zaporizhia today, some 2,039 of them are children. Private transport columns continue to move in the direction of Zaporizhia at this time. We left food and medicines in Berdiansk, where help points are organized for everyone who continues to leave the besieged city," Vereschuk said on briefing on Wednesday.

She said that negotiations on a ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors will continue on Thursday. In addition, it is planned to organize corridors for the supply of humanitarian aid to the blocked settlements of Kharkiv and Kyiv regions.