Russia storms Azovstal iron and steel factory|Chad Nagle|CC BY 2.0
Over 156 civilians were rescued from the Azovstal steelworks and reached Zaporizhzhia safely on Tuesday.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the success of the five-day rescue operation carried out by the UN and the Red Cross.
Zelensky also confirmed that Russian troops tried to storm the steel plant following the evacuation. At the time of the attack, the steelworks—Mariupol’s last holdout for Ukrainian soldiers—still had over 200 civilians trapped inside.
Gaining control of Mariupol is critical to Russia as claiming the city would cut off Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea.
