All Women and Children Evacuated From Mariupol Steel Mill Amid Last Stand

A Ukrainian official reported Saturday that women, children, and the elderly have been evacuated from the Azovstal steel complex in Mariupol. Hundreds of Ukrainian people sought refuge at the steel mill, Mariupol’s final Ukrainian stronghold, as Russian soldiers besieged the city. The facility has been the subject of a ferocious confrontation between Russian and Ukrainian forces, with Russia aiming to complete its capture by May 9 in time for its Victory Day celebrations.

In a Telegram post, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk claimed that part of a humanitarian operation to evacuate residents had been “finished.”

“The President’s command was followed: all women, children, and the old were evacuated from Azovstal. This phase of the humanitarian mission in Mariupol has been concluded “She penned a letter.

According to Reuters, Ukraine announced a plan on Friday to evacuate inhabitants from Azovstal and other portions of Mariupol, while the United Nations conducted a third operation to evacuate civilians from the region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed earlier this week that at least 200 civilians remained at the facility in subterranean shelters with minimal access to food or water while Russia continued to shell the site, according to Reuters.

Around 2,000 Ukrainian troops are said to be guarding the facility against Russian strikes.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin is stepping up his military attack on the city in an attempt to seize the plant before Win Day, a symbolic victory for the country, which has struggled to achieve the headway it hoped for since the invasion began at the end of February. Despite the ongoing Ukrainian opposition at the facility, Russia has stated that the city is already entirely under Russian control.

“Azovstal, the final stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol, remains,” stated Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday. “Russia strikes them every day, either by dropping bombs on them or by launching physical, physical attacks with soldiers.”

Mariupol is an important city on the Azov Sea that would provide Russia land access to Crimea, which the Kremlin annexed in 2014. It is also a major port, and a Russian annexation might cut the nation off from vital trading channels.

According to Reuters, Russia earlier agreed to stop its attack during the day on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to allow people to flee. Natalia Usmanova, 37, a civilian evacuated from the facility, told reporters last Sunday that she felt “awful dread” in the bunker, where residents “didn’t see the light for so long.”

“You have no idea what we went through during the horror,” she remarked. “I lived and worked there my entire life, but what we saw there was absolutely horrific.”