Women, children, seniors evacuated from Mariupol steel plant – New York Daily News

Ukraine has evacuated all women, children and senior citizens from the Mariupol steel plant that’s been under constant assault since the Russian invasion began, government officials said Saturday.

The Azovstal factory was the last Ukrainian stronghold in the eastern city of Mariupol, a target of relentless attacks by Russian forces since Vladimir Putin launched his unprovoked war Feb. 24.

Ordinary citizens and military personnel holed up in the plant for weeks before civilian evacuations began a week ago. Convoys have been moving people out even as Russian forces continued heavy shelling.

“The president’s order has been carried out: All women, children and the elderly have been evacuated from Azovstal,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. “This part of the Mariupol humanitarian operation has been completed.”

There were still estimated to be some 2,000 fighters at Azovstal. Some are still in combat, while hundreds of others are believed to be wounded.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is working with “influential states” to try to save the soldiers, but did not name them. Diplomatic options are also still on the table, he said.

Russia has been hoping to complete its seizure of the plant by Monday, which is Victory Day, commemorating Russia’s triumph over Germany in World War II. Zelenskyy warned his people that the invaders might up their attacks in anticipation of Victory Day.

Victory in the broader Ukraine war still eludes Russian forces.

A Ukrainian counteroffensive was advancing Saturday around Kharkhiv, the country’s second-largest city, Western military analysts said.

In addition, satellite photos showed Ukraine targeting Snake Island to block Russia’s bid for control of the Black Sea. An image taken Saturday showed most of the Russian-held island’s buildings had been destroyed by Ukrainian drone attacks.

Russia took Snake Island early in the war, but it became an example of Ukraine’s fighting spirit. Ukrainian border guards stationed there defied surrender orders, saying “Russian warship, go f–k yourself.”

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In Ukraine’s Odessa region, Russia launched cruise missiles from aircraft on Saturday. Authorities in Odessa have a curfew in place until Tuesday morning.

In the eastern region of Luhansk, authorities said two boys aged 11 and 14 were killed by Russian shelling in the town of Pryvillia, and two girls aged 8 and 12 and a 69-year-old woman were injured.

Also on Saturday, First Lady Jill Biden was in Bucharest, Romania, visiting with Ukrainian women and children who fled to that nation to escape the fighting.

As Biden watched, children wrote messages on paper cutouts of their hands. One little girl wrote, “I want to return to my father.” Biden described the child’s words as “heartbreaking.”

Her husband is urging Congress to approve an additional $33 billion in security and economic assistance for Ukraine.

“We’re all hopeful, right,” the first lady told reporters. “We wake up every morning and think ‘this has to end’ but it still keeps going on and on.”

With News Wire Services