A view shows the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol on May 10. Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers have been evacuated to Russian-controlled territory.
Stringer / AFP via Getty Images
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Stringer / AFP via Getty Images
A view shows the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol on May 10. Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers have been evacuated to Russian-controlled territory.
Stringer / AFP via Getty Images
Ukrainian soldiers who spent weeks barricading under a large steel plant amid intense Russian bombing and shelling, have been evacuated to Russian-occupied territory in eastern Ukraine.
The evacuation from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol is an agreement that Ukrainian authorities say was made with the help of the United Nations and other agencies.
In one declare Posting on Facebook, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said that more than 260 soldiers have been evacuated to Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, of which 53 seriously wounded fighters have gone to medical facilities in the town of Novoazovsk. invaded. The rest remained in Olenivka, another occupied town where thousands of Ukrainians are believed to have been captured by Russian troops that attacked Mariupol. Russian bombing and shelling destroyed almost the entire city.
Russian media showed soldiers arriving on stretchers.
It is not clear if the soldiers were taken prisoner or are under UN protection, but Malyar said the soldiers were able to return home “after a prisoner exchange” with Russia.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian authorities were working with the International Red Cross to help ensure the evacuation of soldiers. Speaking on his Telegram channel, he say“We hope that we will be able to save the lives of our soldiers.”
“I want to emphasize: Ukraine needs its heroes alive,” he said.
Hundreds of soldiers remained in the factory. It’s not clear how long it will take to get everyone out.
Soldiers hid in the catacombs of the giant steel mill more than 80 days ago, trying to hold on to Mariupol. The UN humanitarian agency evacuated hundreds of civilians last month.
