All civilians-- elderly, women and children have been evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine and Russia announced.
Speaking in his nightly Telegram address, he said: “I am grateful to the teams of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations Organisation, who helped us organise the first phase of the evacuation missions from Azovstal,” the Guardian reported. The whereabouts of the evacuees aren't clear yet.
The rescue mission began a week ago-- efforts were coordinated by the UN and Red Cross. However, Ukrainian forces are holding out at the steel plant, the last part of the city, which isn't under Russian control.
Russia has besieged the heavily bombed plant for weeks, demanding the surrender of its defenders from the Azov battalion.
Russian forces fired cruise missiles at the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa on Saturday and bombarded a besieged steel mill in Mariupol, hoping to complete their conquest of the port in time for Victory Day celebrations.
The largest European conflict since World War II has developed into a punishing war of attrition that has killed thousands of people, forced millions to flee their homes and destroyed large swaths of some cities.
Ukrainian leaders warned that attacks would only worsen in the lead-up to Russia's holiday on Monday celebrating Nazi Germany's defeat 77 years ago, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged people to heed air raid warnings.
--With PTI inputs
