Russia's defence chief said on Friday the country's forces have taken full control of the steel plant in Mariupol that was the last stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in the city.
That would mark the end of a nearly three-month siege that reduced much of Mariupol to ruins and left over 20,000 people feared dead.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin on Friday that the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol has been "completely liberated" from Ukrainian fighters, the Associated Press reported.
There was no immediate confirmation from Ukraine.
The last group of the Azov regiment defenders, a group comprising of 531 people, have yielded, according to Russia’s defence ministry, RIA news agency reported.
The city and the steelworks where Ukrainian fighters have held off the Russian assault for weeks have become a symbol of Ukraine's stoic resistance and surprising ability to hinder a much larger force.
Denis Prokopenko, commander of the Azov Regiment, said on Friday that the defenders of Mariupol had received an order to “cease the defence of the city”. The intention was to “save the lives and health of the servicemen of the garrison”, he said.
An undisclosed number of Ukrainian soldiers remained at the Azovstal steel plant on Friday, it was reported earlier. Mr Shoigu said more than 1,900 had surrendered in recent days.
Russia has already started pulling troops back from the site. But a Ministry of Defence assessment indicated Russian commanders are under pressure to quickly send them elsewhere in the Donbas.
"That means that Russia will probably redistribute their forces swiftly without adequate preparation, which risks further force attrition," the MoD said.
