Civilians are being evacuated, Ukrainian commander at Mariupol steel mill.

According to a commander in the Azov Regiment, one of the Ukrainian soldiers stuck within the factory, several civilians have been evacuated from the Azovstal steel complex in Mariupol after a truce was declared.

The truce, which was due to start at 6 a.m. local time, started around 11 a.m. local time, according to Capt. Svyatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov Regiment.

“As of now, it’s the truth, both sides follow the ceasefire regime,” he said.

He said that the evacuation caravan was running late. “We’ve been waiting since 6 a.m. for the evacuation convoy, which arrived at 6:25 p.m.”

“We have brought 20 civilians to the agreed meeting point, whom we’ve managed to rescue from under the rubble. These are women and children. We hope these people will go the agreed destination, which is Zaporizhzhia, the territory controlled by Ukraine,” Palamar said.

“As of now, the rescue operation is ongoing, conducted by the servicemen of Azov – we rescue the civilians from under the rubble,” he added.

“These are women, children and the elderly,” he said in a video message on the regiment’s Telegram channel.

“We hope that this process will be further extended and we will successfully evacuate all civilians,” he said.

“As for the wounded — those people who require urgent medical care — it is unclear to us why they are not being evacuated and their evacuation to the territory controlled by Ukraine is not being discussed,” he added.
“I emphasize that we ask to guarantee the evacuation not just for civilians but also for our wounded servicemen who require medical care.”