May 03,2022: Roughly 100 civilians have been evacuated from the besieged Mariupol steel plant in eastern Ukraine and are heading out of Russian-controlled territory, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
The announcement came after the United Nations said a “safe passage operation” was on at Azovstal, where Ukrainian forces said they and hundreds of civilians were sheltering from Russian bombardment.
“Evacuation of civilians from Azovstal began,” Zelenskyy said on Twitter.
Zelenskyy said the group was expected to arrive in the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is under Ukrainian control, on Monday.
“Grateful to our team! Now they, together with UN, are working on the evacuation of other civilians from the plant,” he said.
The Russian defence ministry earlier said 46 civilians had left the plant on Saturday. “All of the civilians were given accommodation, food and necessary medical help,” the ministry said.
A ministry video showed a convoy of cars and buses travelling in the dark, marked with a ‘Z’, the letter used by the Russian forces in the conflict.
