MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2022) A total of 46 civilians was evacuated from the territory of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol on Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"In the afternoon, 25 local residents left. With the onset of darkness, taking advantage of the ceasefire regime, the second group of 21 people went out. They were transferred to the village of Bezimenne," the ministry said.
On Saturday, a Sputnik correspondent said that 25 civilians were evacuated from the territory of the Azovstal steel plant, where the remaining Ukrainian forces have been hiding since the takeover of the city by the Russian troops.
On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. Russia said that the aim of its operation is "demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine."
On March 7, forces of the Donetsk People's Republic surrounded Mariupol and began a liberation campaign, with the remaining fighters of the nationalist Azov battalion now hiding in the underground tunnels of the Azovstal plant.
