More than 260 injured Ukrainian soldiers are said to have been evacuated by bus from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol.
- We hope to save the lives of our boys, says President Volodymyr Zelenskyj in a video message.
Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Malyar says that 53 seriously injured soldiers belonging to the famous Azov regiment were taken from the steelworks to a hospital in Russian-controlled Novoazovsk, just east of Mariupol, writes the news agency AFP.
Another 211 wounded soldiers have been transported to another Russian-controlled area.
An exchange procedure to bring the soldiers home to Ukrainian soil will be initiated.
- I want to emphasize: Ukraine needs its Ukrainian heroes alive.
That is our principle, says Zelenskyj in a video comment, writes AFP.
Around 600 soldiers are believed to have been in the Azovstal steelworks.
Measures are said to be underway to save the remaining ones.