The first evacuees from Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant are beginning to arrive in the Ukrainian-held city of Zaporizhzhia
Many spent over a month hiding from Russian shelling in underground bunkers with no sunlight and limited supplies of food and water.
The complex acted as a refuge for civilians and Ukrainian troops as Russia honed in on the port city of Mariupol.
The United Nations along with the International Committee of the Red Cross, Ukraine and Russia began the mission to evacuate women, children and the elderly from the steel works on April 29.
Although there are reports that hundreds of people still remain trapped in the steel plant with several dozen of them being small children.
The National Guard commander says Russian forces have resumed heavy shelling after evacuees fled the area.
Mariupol’s city council estimates that around 80 to 90 per cent of the city’s building have been damaged or destroyed.
Meanwhile Ukraine’s civilian death toll has surpassed 3,000.
