Ukrainian military says the defenders of Mariupol have ended their mission

The Ukrainian military says the defenders of Mariupol have ended their mission, after hundreds of soldiers left the Azovstal steel plant More than 260 fighters were taken to Russian-controlled territory late on Monday. The Ukrainian unit holed up beneath the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol said on Monday (May 16) its garrison was fulfilling orders to save the lives of troops, an apparent indication that the long siege there was coming to an end. The fighting at Azovstal in ruined Mariupol has symbolised Ukrainian resistance throughout Russia's nearly three-month-old invasion. Most civilians who had sought shelter at the vast Soviet-era plant were evacuated earlier this month. "In order to save lives, the entire Mariupol garrison is implementing the approved decision of the Supreme Military Command and hopes for the support of the Ukrainian people," the Azov Regiment said in a social media post. In an accompanying video, one of the unit's senior commanders, Denys Prokopenko, said: "The main thing is to realise all the risks, is there a plan B, are you fully committed to that plan which must allow for fulfilling the assigned tasks and preserve the lives and health of personnel?" "This is the highest level of overseeing troops. All the more so when your decision is endorsed by the highest military command," he said. Prokopenko did not spell out what action the defenders were taking. The video was released hours after Russia said it had agreed to evacuate wounded Ukrainian soldiers to a medical facility in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk. Five buses carrying troops from the Azovstal steelworks arrived in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk late on Monday, some 32 kilometres (20 miles) to the east, a Reuters witness said. Some of the evacuated troops were wounded and carried out of the buses on stretchers. Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Anna Malyar said 53 were taken to a hospital. It was not immediately clear how many troops were aboard the buses. Malyar said 211 other troops were taken to another site. Some 600 troops were believed to have been inside the steel plant. "We hope that we will be able to save the lives of our guys," Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday night. The Ukrainian regiment at the steel plant said it was fulfilling orders to save the lives of troops by evacuating them. They are expected to be exchanged for Russian prisoners of war. The Sun newspaper brings you the latest breaking news videos and explainers from the UK and around the world Become a Sun Subscriber and hit the bell to be the first to know Read The Sun: http://www.thesun.co.uk Like The Sun on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesun/ Follow The Sun on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSun Subscribe to The Sun on Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/discover/The_Sun/1633225139