Civilians trapped in besieged or destroyed cities and towns in Ukraine are suffering from electricity outages, food shortages and other vital services.
Thousands are hoping to find relief through safe exits Thursday agreed upon by Ukraine and Russia.
If the humanitarian corridors hold during an expected daylong ceasefire in these areas, it will mark the third consecutive day for such relief efforts.
Already, 35,000 people have been able to flee through these safe corridors.
The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia are meeting Thursday in Turkey in their highest-level talks thus far.
The two-week-long war has forced 2 million people to flee the country, half of them children.
