Hundreds of people remain trapped at a steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, despite a group of evacuees departing on Sunday.
The facility has been a Russian target for several weeks as it is the city’s last stronghold of Ukrainian resistance.
The commander of the Azoystal facility, Danys Shlega, indicated that while some civilians had been evacuated, hundreds remained. Those who remain are subjected to severe shelling throughout the area.
The first batch of evacuees from the facility is anticipated to arrive later today in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia. The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross assisted in facilitating the evacuation via official convoy.
Russia claimed that some of the evacuees were brought to a village controlled by rebels backed by Moscow, although state media later reported that the people would be permitted to proceed to Ukrainian-held territory if they so desired.
In a tweet, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his delight at the news of the evacuation.
According to reports, some people have been taking refuge in the Azovstal steelworks for several weeks, and food, water, and medicine supplies are all running low.
“The situation has become a sign of a real humanitarian catastrophe,” Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
