Ukraine evacuates 264 soldiers from Azovstal steel mill

• Azovstal Last goodbye in the Ukrainian Poplar

A total of 264 Ukrainian soldiers were evacuated Monday from the

steelworks in the eastern town of

, the

Defense Ministry reported .

Of the total, 53 seriously injured were evacuated to a medical center in

for medical treatment, and the other 211 people were taken to

through the humanitarian corridor, the ministry added in a statement.

"As for the defenders who still remain in the Azovstal territory, rescue efforts are being carried out thanks to the

" of the GUR of the Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces, the National Guard and the Guard Service of Borders, he added.

"Thanks to the defenders of Mariupol, we have gained critical time to form reserves, regroup forces and receive assistance from partners," explained the Defense Ministry, which admitted that it unfortunately cannot unblock Azovstal by military means.

"The most important common task of the whole of Ukraine and the whole world is to save the lives of the defenders of Mariupol," he said.

For his part, Ukrainian President

said that "we hope to save the lives of our boys."

"I want to stress that Ukraine needs its Ukrainian heroes alive. That is our principle," he said in a video message late Monday.

At that steelworks, Russian troops continue their massive artillery and air strikes to keep the Ukrainian defenders entrenched in the Azovstal steelworks, among whom were some

, blocked .

The

had already informed Moscow on Monday of an agreement to evacuate Ukrainian fighters wounded at the Azovstal steel mill.

"On May 16, as a result of negotiations with the representatives of the Ukrainian military blocked in the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant, an

," said a Defense statement without specifying the number.

It added that a ceasefire has now been established in the area and a humanitarian corridor has been opened through which wounded soldiers are taken out and "transferred to a medical center in Novoazovsk in the Donetsk People's Republic, where they will be given all necessary assistance.

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