Russia Approves Evacuation Of Wounded Ukrainian Soldiers From Azovstal, President Zelensky: We Hope To Save Them

A corner of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/Chad Nagle)

JAKARTA - Injured Ukrainian troops have begun to be evacuated from the last bastion of the Azovstal steelworks complex in Mariupol, after Russia authorized evacuations from there, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hoping to save his military life.

Russia said on Monday it had agreed to evacuate injured Ukrainian soldiers from a bunker under the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, to a medical facility in the Russian-held city of Novoazovsk.

"An agreement has been reached on the transfer of the injured," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"A humanitarian corridor has been opened through which injured Ukrainian soldiers were taken to a medical facility in Novoazovsk," the statement continued.

Separately, Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said the process of evacuating his wounded soldiers had begun. The 53 wounded soldiers from the Azovstal steel mill were taken to a hospital in the Russian-held city of Novoazovsk, about 32 kilometers (20 miles) to the east.

Meanwhile, another 211 people were taken to the city of Olenivka, in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatists. All refugees will be subject to a potential prisoner swap with Russia, he added.

Reuters saw five buses carrying troops from Azovstal arriving in Novoazovsk on Monday evening. Several of the evacuated soldiers were injured and carried off the bus on stretchers. About 600 soldiers are believed to be inside the steel mill.

"We hope we can save the lives of our people," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech early Tuesday.

"There are seriously injured among them. They are receiving treatment. Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive," he added.

The Ukrainian military said it had ordered unit commanders stationed in Azovstal to save the lives of personnel, with troops there fulfilling their combat mission.

Efforts to rescue the troops still inside are ongoing, the military added. It was not stated how many troops were left.

Ukrainian troops said they held on to Azovstal for 82 days, buying time for all of Ukraine to fight Russian forces and secure Western weapons needed to withstand Russian attacks.

However, the evacuation likely marks the end of the longest and bloodiest fighting of the Ukraine war, a significant defeat for Ukraine. Mariupol is now in ruins after a Russian siege that Ukraine says killed tens of thousands of people in the city.

The evacuations came hours after Russia said it had agreed to evacuate injured Ukrainian soldiers to a medical facility in Novoazovsk.

It is known that the last defenders of Azovstal have survived for weeks in bunkers and tunnels built deep underground to withstand nuclear war. Civilians were evacuated from inside the plant, one of Europe's largest metallurgical facilities, earlier this month.