According to Ukrainian sources, 20 civilians left the Azov steelworks in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol yesterday to be taken to a safe place. The civilians, women and children, were taken to an agreed location, “and we hope they will be taken to Zaporizhia in Ukrainian-controlled territory,” Azov regiment deputy commander Svyatoslav Palamar said in a video posted on Telegram.
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The factory premises were bombed by Russian artillery throughout the night, said the deputy commander of the regiment defending the steelworks. An agreed ceasefire for 6 am did not begin until five hours later, but has been observed ever since. An evacuation convoy expected at 6 am finally arrived more than twelve hours later.
Look for more civilians
The Azov regiment is looking for more civilians at the industrial site and hopes they can all be taken to a safe location, Palamar said. For now, however, there are no plans to evacuate the wounded.
The steel mill site is the last bastion of Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol, which was largely destroyed by Russian attacks and had a population of half a million before the Russian attacks began. Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, including dozens of children, were said to be in the complex with extensive underground tunnel systems. So far, no action to evacuate the Azov steelworks has been successful.