Ukraine said Wednesday it was halting all humanitarian corridors allowing for the evacuation of civilians from war-scarred regions of the country, accusing Russian forces of violating agreements to allow people to flee.
"Unfortunately, we are not opening them today. The situation along the routes is too dangerous and we are forced to refrain from opening humanitarian corridors today," Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a statement on social media.
She said that around Zaporizhzhia in the south, Russian forces were blocking buses used in the evacuations and that in the east Lugansk region Moscow's army was violating an agreement to halt shooting while people escape.
"The occupiers not only disregard the norms of international humanitarian law, but also cannot properly control their people on the ground," Vereshchuk said on Telegram.
Ukrainian authorities have been urging people in the southeastern Donbas region of the country to quickly move west in advance of a feared, large-scale Russian offensive to capture the region.
In the eastern Ukraine city of Kramatorsk, Russian forces allegedly struck a train station used for evacuations recently, leaving more than 50 people dead.
Vereshchuk said Wednesday that work was underway to resume work along humanitarian routes "as soon as possible."