The Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Arena Varshchuk, announced tonight the completion of an operation to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol, after more than two months of fighting in the city.
According to the Warsaw Pact, at the end of the operation, sponsored by the United Nations and the Red Cross, there are no more civilians in the besieged compound and all those left in the huge factory are Ukrainian fighters.
Mariupol and the Azobestel steel plant,
According to the report, three fighters were killed by Russian army fire while helping civilians evacuate.
In recent days, while evacuating the compound from civilians, the Russians made several failed attempts to occupy the place by storm and managed, at least in one case, to break into the fortified compound area.
The ruins of a building in Mariupol, Photo: AP
Authorities in the city estimated about two weeks ago that 20,000 civilians were killed in the city during the Russian invasion, in a city with a population of less than half a million.
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us