Ukraine war: 100 civilians evacuated from Mariupol steel plant, says Zelensky
- Rescue marks first significant evacuation from the industrial facility, the last pocket of resistance after a brutal weeks-long assault on the port city
- UN says ‘very complex’ operation to bring residents out is being done with the Red Cross and in co-ordination with Ukrainian and Russian officials
An initial group of around 100 civilians have been evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday.
“Evacuation of civilians from Azovstal began. The 1st group of about 100 people is already heading to the controlled area. Tomorrow we’ll meet them in Zaporizhzhia,” he tweeted, referring to a city 220km (130 miles) to the northwest.
“Now they, together with #UN, are working on the evacuation of other civilians from the plant,” he said.
Earlier on Sunday, the United Nations confirmed that a “safe passage operation is ongoing” at Azovstal and was being coordinated by the Red Cross and Russian and Ukrainian forces.
UN humanitarian spokesman Saviano Abreu said the operation to bring people out of the sprawling industrial plant was “very complex”. There were no further details due to safety concerns.
Like other evacuations, success of the mission in the port city of Mariupol depended on Russia and its forces in a long series of checkpoints before reaching Ukrainian ones.