The Ukrainian General Staff said early Tuesday, that a total of 264 Ukrainian soldiers, including 53 seriously wounded personnel, have been evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the port city of Mariupol
“The evacuation of 53 seriously injured soldiers began and they were taken to the hospital in the town of Novoazovsk. A further 211 soldiers were evacuated from the plant to Olenivka to be transferred to the area under the control of the Ukrainian army through the exchange procedure,” it said in a statement.

The garrison in Mariupol has completed its designated combat mission and the Supreme Military Command has ordered the commanders of the military units at the Azovstal plant to save the lives of the personnel, it added.

The statement also noted that efforts to save the remaining soldiers in Azovstal are ongoing.

Meanwhile, in a video address to the nation posted on his Telegram channel, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that “Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive. This is our principle. I think that every adequate person will understand these words.”

Additionally, praising the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukrainian intelligence, the negotiating team, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations, he said: “We hope that we will be able to save the lives of our guys. Among them are the seriously wounded. They are being provided with medical aid.”