KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine announced Saturday that all women, children and older adults had been evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant, the last sliver of Ukrainian-held territory in the shattered southern port city of Mariupol, as Ukrainian towns and cities remained on edge for a major Russian holiday dedicated to military victory and new fighting flared along eastern front lines.
“The president’s order has been carried out,” Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, posted on the Telegram messaging app, offering little further detail. “This part of the Mariupol humanitarian operation has been completed.”
More than 5.8 million refugees have fled fighting in Ukraine since Russia began its invasion on Feb. 24, according to the United Nations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a Saturday night address to his nation, said more than 300 civilians were rescued from the steel plant in recent days and efforts were underway to prepare for the second stage of the evacuation: the wounded and medics.
