UNHCR chief warns 1.5M may soon have left Ukraine

The United Nations refugee chief warned Saturday that 1.5 million refugees may have left Ukraine by the end of the weekend. Filippo Grandi also stressed the importance of maintaining humanitarian corridors in eastern Ukraine. "I think that by tonight, latest tomorrow, the total number of people that have crossed out of Ukraine will reach 1.5 million," Grandi said, speaking from the Moldovan capital Chisinau. He added he was worried the number may eventually rise to 4 million.

Grandi hailed the earlier announcement of two evacuation routes in eastern Ukraine, noting that the U.N. refugee agency was prepared to send aid convoys to the area. "The logistical capacity is not the biggest problem - it's the security guarantees that need to be given and maintained," he said.

Top Ukrainian officials said the cease-fire agreement to remove residents from two cities had fallen apart on Saturday. They reported that Russian shelling had continued in Mariupol, a strategic port in the southeast, and in the eastern city of Volnovakha, where evacuation routes had been agreed.