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The convoy of buses evacuated from Mariupol is advancing towards Zaporizhia, but it is not yet clear whether or not the evacuees have crossed into Ukrainian-controlled territory.
There are reportedly about 100 women and children on the buses who have spent more than 60 days in labyrinth-like tunnels under the Azovstal steel plant.
It was built to withstand a nuclear explosion, and when war broke out, many civilians used the plant’s large underground rooms as shelters. It is also being used by a group of Ukrainian fighters who are making their final stay in the country, even though the town around them fell after weeks of Russian bombing.
The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross launched a coordinated operation with Ukraine and Russia on April 29 to remove women, children and the elderly from the steel plant. Negotiations are ongoing for the release of another 200 civilians still trapped there. Residents of Mariupol were also invited to join the column if they could reach a meeting point.
It is estimated that there are about 100,000 civilians still living in the southern Ukrainian city, now occupied by Russian forces.
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