Ukraine's deputy prime minister says all women, children and older adults have been evacuated from a Mariupol steel mill long besieged by Russian forces.
"The president's order has been carried out: All women, children and the elderly have been evacuated from Azovstal," Iryna Veheshchuk said."This part of the Mariupol humanitarian operation has been completed."
As Russia's Monday holiday commemorating Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II approached, cities across Ukraine prepared for an expected increase in Russian attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged residents numbed by more than 10 weeks of war to heed air raid warnings. Moscow's also has sought to sweep across southern Ukraine to both cut off the country from the sea and to connect its territory to the breakaway Transnistria region of Moldova, long home to Russian troops. But it has struggled to achieve those objectives.
Against that backdrop, Ukrainian fighters made a final stand to prevent a complete takeover of Mariupol. Securing the strategically important Sea of Azov port would give Moscow a land bridge to the Crimea Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine during a 2014 invasion. The latest evacuees followed roughly 500 others who were allowed to leave the plant and other parts of the city in recent days.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said"influential states" were involved in efforts to rescue the soldiers, although he did not mention any by name. A Washington-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, said in its most recent assessment that Ukraine's military may be able to push Russian forces"out of artillery range of Kharkiv in the coming days," providing a respite for the city and an opportunity to build the defenders' momentum"into a successful, broader counteroffensive."
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘Seemed like goodbye’: Mariupol defenders make their standLVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian fighters in the tunnels underneath Mariupol’s pulverized steel plant held out against Russian troops Thursday in an increasingly desperate and perhaps doo…
Read more »
Evacuation Efforts Go on at Sprawling Ukrainian Steel MillEfforts to evacuate more civilians from the tunnels beneath a sprawling Ukrainian steel mill are continuing as Ukrainian fighters make their last stand in Mariupol.
Read more »
Evacuation efforts go on at sprawling Ukrainian steel millRescuers were seeking to evacuate more civilians from tunnels beneath a sprawling steel mill in Mariupol as Ukrainian fighters make their last stand to prevent Moscow's complete takeover of the strategically important port city.
Read more »
50 more civilians rescued from besieged Mariupol steel plant amid Russian assaultFifty more civilians, including 11 children, were rescued Friday from the tunnels under a besieged steel plant in Mariupol where Ukrainian fighters have been making their last stand.
Read more »
Heroic Mariupol Defenders Wrecking Putin’s Victory Day Plans for May 9Russians renew assault on the last Mariupol forces holed up in the Azovstal steel plant, desperate for something to celebrate during Monday’s traditional Victory Day parade.
Read more »
Defenders inside Ukrainian steel mill refuse to surrenderUkrainian fighters battling Russian forces in the tunnels beneath Mariupol’s immense steel plant are refusing to surrender in the face of relentless attacks
Read more »