Russia has declared victory in its months-long battle to conquer Mariupol.
Last night, Moscow said the port city had been “completely liberated” after the last fighters defending the Azovstal metal works surrendered.
Friday’s evacuation marks the end of the most destructive siege of the war, with Mariupol now in complete ruins.
It said 531 Ukrainian troops had left the site. “The underground facilities of the enterprise, where the militants were hiding, came under the full control of the Russian armed forces,” it added in a statement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the site’s last remaining defenders had been given permission to leave.
“Today the boys received a clear signal from the military command that they can get out and save their lives,” he told a Ukrainian television channel.
According to Moscow officials, a total of 2,439 Ukrainian fighters have now surrendered from the steel works in recent days.
Moscow has released no information about where the soldiers who left last night are being evacuated to, but previous buses have been sent to Russian-controlled territories.
Source: BBC