The last Ukrainian civilians trapped at a steel plant in the port city of Mariupol have now been evacuated, officials said.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk said on Saturday that “all women, children and the elderly” had been taken out of underground bunkers at the huge steel plant, where they had fled Russian attacks with little food, water or medicine.
“This part of the humanitarian operation in Mariupol is over,” Vereshchuk wrote in the Telegram news app.
The steel plant, the last pocket of Ukrainians fighting in the devastated port city, has become a symbol of resistance to Russia’s efforts to take over parts of eastern and southern Ukraine in the 10-week war. Hundreds of Ukrainian fighters are believed to be inside.
In a late-night address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 300 civilians had been rescued from the headquarters and vowed to continue “extremely difficult but substantial efforts” to evacuate the captured fighters.
“We have taken all civilians out of the Azovstal plant and are now preparing for the second stage of the evacuation mission to evacuate the wounded and medics,” he said. “Of course, we are working on the evacuation of our military, all the heroes who are defending Mariupol.
A girl evacuated from Mariupol stands in front of a bus near a temporary accommodation center in the village of Bezimene in Donetsk, May 7 [Alexander Ermochenko/ Reuters]
He added that the authorities will also help residents in other places in Mariupol and the surrounding settlements in safety.
“Hell Reality Show”
Weeks of Russian bombing left Mariupol in ruins, while the steel plant was largely destroyed. During the pauses in the fighting last weekend, the evacuation of civilians began, with the mediation of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The Russian-backed separatists also reported a total of 176 civilians evacuated from the plant. It was unclear whether civilian men were still there.
Russian forces, backed by tanks and artillery, again attempted to storm Azovstal on Saturday, trying to displace the last Ukrainian defenders, according to Ukraine’s military command.
But fighters at the plant have vowed not to surrender, and officials in Kyiv fear Russian forces want to destroy them by Monday, when Moscow marks the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
The Ukrainian government issued a statement after the end of the evacuation of civilians, calling on Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to rescue trapped soldiers, saying they had been under “ongoing shelling and attacks by the Russian army” for 72 consecutive days. .
“Now there is a lack of medicine, water and food, wounded soldiers are dying of gangrene and sepsis.
One commander, who is still in Azovstal, wrote on Facebook that his troops could now only hope for a miracle and that “a higher power is finding a way to understand our salvation.”
“I feel like I’m in a hell of a reality show where we soldiers are fighting for our lives and the whole world is watching this interesting episode,” said Sergei Volinski, commander of the 36th Marine Brigade.
“Pain, suffering, hunger, misery, tears, fears, death. Everything is real, “he added, posting a photo of himself unshaven, with blurred eyes and a bruised nose.
Russia has not given any indication that it will allow the evacuation of trapped soldiers.
The Azov Battalion, a Ukrainian military unit, said three Ukrainian fighters had been killed and six others wounded in an evacuation attempt on Friday. Captain Svyatoslav Palamar, the battalion’s deputy commander, said his troops were waving white flags and accused Russian forces of firing anti-tank weapons at a vehicle.
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in Mariupol on April 21, ordered the plant closed and called on Ukrainian forces inside to disarm.
Mariupol, located between the Crimean peninsula occupied by Moscow in 2014 and parts of eastern Ukraine captured by Russian-backed separatists in the same year, is key to connecting the two Russian-held territories and blocking Ukrainian exports.
In Washington, D.C., William Burns, director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, said Putin was convinced that “doubling” the conflict would improve the outcome for Russia.
“He’s in a mood he doesn’t believe he can afford to lose,” Burns told a Financial Times event.
Moscow has called its actions since February 24 a “special military operation” to disarm Ukraine and free it from anti-Russian nationalism fueled by the West.
Ukraine and the West say Russia has started an unprovoked war.
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