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Smoke over the embattled Azov Steelworks in Mariupol on Saturday
Photo: ALESSANDRO GUERRA/EPA
The last civilians have been freed from the Azov Steelworks in Mariupol.
Now Ukraine is also hoping for rescue for the wounded and soldiers there.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyj spoke on Saturday evening of a possible second phase of the evacuation that is being prepared.
Russian forces, meanwhile, continued their attacks on the factory, the Ukrainians' last bastion in the largely devastated port city.
According to unanimous Ukrainian and Russian information, the last civilians were rescued from their hiding places during a ceasefire in the fighting for the steelworks on Saturday.
For the remaining soldiers, however, the situation is desperate.
He can only hope for a miracle, wrote the commander of the 36th Marine Brigade, Serhiy Wolynskyj, on Facebook.
"Here's to higher powers finding a solution to save us!"
Observers assume that the Kremlin wants to seize the steelworks as soon as possible so that it can announce the capture of Mariupol on Monday, the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Hitler's Germany.
Battles and deaths in the East
"We are now preparing the second stage of the evacuation mission, the wounded and doctors," said Zelenskyy in his evening video address.
This is only possible if all sides stick to an agreement.
"Of course we are also working on withdrawing our military." However, Moscow has repeatedly announced that it intends to take the Ukrainian fighters captive even if they surrender.
In eastern Ukraine, Russian and Ukrainian troops continued to fight fiercely in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
At least six Ukrainian civilians were killed there, the regional administration said on Saturday.
Two children were among the dead, said to have been killed in the village of Pryvillia under fire from Grad (hail) multiple rocket launchers.
In a village near Lysychansk, a bomb dropped from the air hit the school, under which the last bunker in the village was located.
According to initial reports, two people died there.
In the capital Kyiv and its surroundings there was an air alert on Sunday night, but also in Lviv in the west, Kharkiv and Donetsk in the east, Odessa in the south and other areas.
Ukraine fears particularly heavy airstrikes in connection with Russia's upcoming commemoration of the Soviet victory in World War II.
Russia: Brought 1.16 million people into the country from Ukraine
These days the world commemorates the victory over National Socialism in World War II, said Selenskyj.
But for him, the Russian approach shows “that it is impossible to defeat evil once and for all”.
He lamented that 200 Ukrainian cultural heritage sites had been hit in the two-and-a-half month war of aggression.
"Unfortunately, when people disregard other people's rights, disobey the law and destroy culture, evil returns," the president said.
According to the Russian military, 1.16 million people have been brought to Russia from the contested areas of Ukraine since the end of February.
This included 205,000 children, said the Ministry of Defense in Moscow.
Russia sees this as rescuing threatened civilians.
Kyiv accuses Moscow of kidnapping people against their will and preventing them from moving to Ukrainian-controlled territory.
Meanwhile, Britain pledged more military aid to Ukraine of £1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) ahead of G7 consultations.
"The UK was the first country to recognize the scale of the threat and is sending arms to help Ukrainians defend themselves," Prime Minister Boris Johnson was quoted as saying by the PA agency.
The attack by Russian President Vladimir Putin not only caused unspeakable destruction in Ukraine.
"It also threatens peace and security across Europe."
Bas travels to Kyiv
Johnson announced part of the new £300m package last week.
Among other things, anti-artillery radar, jamming devices for electronics and night vision devices are to be delivered for this purpose.
London had previously pledged £1.5 billion in military and humanitarian aid.
On Sunday, the President of the Bundestag, Bärbel Bas, will travel to Kyiv as Germany's highest-ranking representative to date.
She follows an invitation from the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk.
On behalf of the Bundestag, Bas wants to lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and at the memorial to the murdered Ukrainian Jews in Babyn Yar.
Bas also hopes to meet President Zelenskyy when the security situation allows.
fdi/dpa
