Russia-Ukraine war live updates: Civilian evacuations underway at besieged Mariupol steel plant, leaders say
Civilian evacuations are underway at a Mariupol steel plant that has become the last holdout against Russia’s quest to control the strategic port city, the deputy commander of a Ukrainian regiment said in a video shared Saturday on Telegram.
Svyatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov Regiment, said 20 women and children have left in the hope of being taken to Zaporizhzhia, a city about 130 miles to the northwest, where evacuees have been shuttled. Mykhailo Vershynin, chief of the Donetsk regional patrol police, told The Washington Post that a first group had been taken to a collection point, where more civilians are expected to be taken Sunday before traveling to Zaporizhzhia in a convoy.
Palamar said the hope is to evacuate all civilians from the Azovstal plant, where Ukrainian officials believe up to 1,000 people have taken shelter. Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers are also believed to be at the site, battling Russian troops for control of Mariupol.
He added that a cease-fire slated to begin at 6 a.m. started instead at 11 a.m. and that “it is true at the present moment” that both sides were abiding by it. Evacuation buses arrived at 6:25 p.m., and by 7:40 p.m. the civilians were delivered to “the agreed location.”
“These are women with children, old people, and we hope to continue this process and be able to evacuate all civilians,” Palamar said.
The United Nations and the International Committee for the Red Cross on Saturday told The Washington Post they could not provide any information on any evacuation attempt.
Evacuating civilians from Mariupol, in particular the steel plant, has become a point of contention between Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian leaders have accused Russian troops of violating cease-fires and taking those hoping to flee Mariupol to Russia against their will. Supplies of food, water and medicine have been dwindling as the war drags on.
Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol’s mayor, wrote earlier Saturday on Telegram that there was “hope for the evacuation of Mariupol.”
