Ukraine to continue evacuation from Mariupol - China.org.cn

Ukraine will continue the evacuation from the city of Mariupol which began on Sunday afternoon, head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak said on Sunday evening.

In the first stage, Ukraine evacuated from Mariupol 100 women, children and elders, who will arrive in Ukraine's southern city of Zaporizhzhia, Yermak said on Facebook.

He thanked the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross for their support for the evacuation efforts.

According to Petro Andryushchenko, an advisor to the mayor of Mariupol, the evacuation began at 4 p.m. local time (1300 GMT) on Sunday.

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 Some 80 civilians, including children and women, held by Ukrainian nationalists have been evacuated from the territory of Azovstal thanks to the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

"Thanks to the initiative of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin 80 civilians, including women, children, held by Ukrainian nationalists were evacuated from the territory of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. The divisions of the Russian Armed Forces and the DPR People’s Militia opened a humanitarian corridor and ensured ceasefire for safe evacuation of civilians," the statement said.

All civilians evacuated were carried to Bezymennoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the ministry said, adding that "the civilians evacuated by the Russian military from the Azovstal plant willing to enter the regions controlled by the Kiev regime were delivered to representatives of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross."