Mariupol records more than 5,000 civilian deaths

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said more than 5,000 residents, including 210 children, have been killed in the Ukrainian city since the Russian invasion began in February. Another 50 people burned to death in one bombed hospital, he added. Ukrainian officials said Russian forces are gathering some of the bodies in Mariupol and also in the northeastern town of Bucha to destroy evidence of Russian war crimes. Workers in Bucha collected more than 60 bodies discovered in the past few days for further investigation. Police also said they found at least 20 bodies in the Makariv area west of Kyiv.

Have civilian evacuation efforts continued? Ukrainian authorities said they evacuated nearly 5,000 people from combat areas Wednesday. Officials planned to open 10 humanitarian corridors Thursday, said Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk. Vereshchuk urged civilians to leave the country’s eastern region as anticipation grew over a heavy Russian military assault in the coming days. Russian shelling in the Donbas’ Donetsk region killed at least five people Wednesday.

Dig deeper: Read all of WORLD’s ongoing coverage of the war.