Over 31,000 civilians evacuated from Mariupol in past 24 hours - Russian Defense Ministry

MOSCOW. March 16 (Interfax) - More than 31,000 civilians were evacuated from Ukraine's Mariupol in the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"A humanitarian operation is underway in Mariupol. As many as 31,367 civilians were safely evacuated from the unblocked city via humanitarian corridors in the past 24 hours," head of the Russian National Defense Control Center Mikhail Mizintsev said.