Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk said on Saturday that all women, children and the elderly had been rescued from the wreckage of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.
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“The evacuation of people in this part of Mariupol is over,” Irina Vereshchuk said Saturday evening. ‘
Earlier on Friday, 50 new civilians were evacuated. However, the attacks continue there.
Russian forces are attacking the steel plant by air and land.
Before the UN-led evacuation, 200 civilians, including children, were detained. Ukrainian troops are also trapped in the steel plant. There are many injured among them. Many areas were under the rubble and there were concerns about rescuing them.
About one and a half thousand people were evacuated from various areas of Mariupol, including Ajvastal, last Sunday. After a risky and extremely slow journey, they reached a Ukrainian town more than 200 kilometers away on Tuesday. Some even went to the Russian-controlled town of Bezimene at that time.
The protective structures of the huge Azovstal compound were also severely damaged by the continuous Russian shelling and bombardment.
The last base of the Ukrainian army is in the city of Mariupol. They are in dire straits due to lack of weapons, food and supplies. Russia has been urging them to surrender.
