KIEV: Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on Tuesday that more than 260 Ukrainian soldiers have been evacuated from the Azovstal steel complex in Mariupol, which is under siege.

According to media reports, Malyar claimed that 53 badly wounded soldiers were evacuated from Azovstal to a healthcare facility in Novoazovsk for treatment, while 211 other personnel were transported to the Olenivka via the humanitarian corridor. The detained Russians will be exchanged for the Ukrainian soldiers later, according to Malyar.

The evacuation of Ukrainian military personnel from the Azovstal steel mill is still underway, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' public department on Facebook.

Mariupol, a major port city on the Azov Sea in eastern Ukraine, has seen one of the biggest outbreaks of violence in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The Azovstal complex, which covers an area of around 11 square kilometres, is the Ukrainian forces' last stronghold in Mariupol.

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