Novoazovsk [Ukraine], April 30 (ANI/Sputnik): A group of 25 civilians was evacuated from the territory of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, where the remaining Ukrainian forces have been hiding since the takeover of the port city by the Russian troops, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Saturday.
According to the correspondent, the evacuees included 19 adults and six children.
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. (ANI/Sputnik)