Sumy civilians leave in first successful mass evacuation

Sumy civilians leave in first successful mass evacuation

Thousands of residents from the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy were successfully evacuated after Russia agreed to pause attacks and evacuation corridors opened.

Qazet.az reports that evacuations began on Tuesday morning, with buses heading towards the city of Poltava, further south and away from the front lines.

About 5,000 people and more than 1,000 private vehicles "are already in safety", said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelensky's office.

It was the first successful mass evacuation despite Russia announcing several ceasefires to get people out of cities under bombardment.

A similar attempt for people trapped in Chernihiv failed because Russia kept shelling the exit route, Ukraine claimed.

Sumy's regional governor said the humanitarian corridor would continue working on Wednesday.