Dozens of evacuees, who had been hiding for weeks in the bunkers of the ironworks in occupied Mariupol, arrived yesterday in the Kiev-controlled city of Zaporozhye, but humanitarian workers said that a large number of people were still trapped in the port city.
Exhausted people, including young children and pensioners, disembarked from a bus that stopped at a parking lot in southeastern Ukraine after fleeing the ruins of their hometown, which is now under Russian control.
"We said goodbye to life, we thought no one knew where we were," said 70-year-old Valentina Sitnjikova, who hid in the Azovstal ironworks for two months with her son and 10-year-old granddaughter.
The large industrial complex of the Azovstal ironworks with its bunkers and tunnels became a refuge for civilians as well as for Ukrainian fighters while Moscow kept the city on the shores of the Sea of Azov under siege.
Sitnikova said that 17 other families, including children, were with her in the shelter and that their bunker collapsed when Russia bombed the area and that Ukrainian soldiers pulled them out of the ruins three days ago.
The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross coordinated a five-day operation that began on April 29 to rescue women, children and the elderly from the ironworks.
Osnat Lubrani, coordinator of UN humanitarian efforts for Ukraine, said that 101 "women, men, children and elderly people were able to finally leave the bunkers under the Azovstal steel plant and after two months see the light of day."
Another 58 people joined the humanitarian convoy from a town near Mariupol.
"I can't believe I made it, we just want to rest," said Alina Kozitskaja, who said she spent weeks in the basement with packed bags waiting for a chance to escape.
Several women held banners calling on Ukrainian authorities to evacuate the soldiers - including their family members - who remain trapped and besieged at the Azovstal plant.
"We are afraid that after the evacuation of civilians, the boys will be left there. We don't see any signs of help," said 29-year-old Ksenia Chebysheva, whose husband is a member of the Azov Regiment.
Chebysheva, who was holding a banner that read "Save the army from Azovstal", said that she heard on April 26 that her husband was still alive, but since then there has been no news about him.
"They have no food, water or ammunition," another woman exclaimed. "Everyone has forgotten them".
Yesterday, Russia again shelled the ironworks in Mariupol, despite the fact that the evacuation organized by the UN is still ongoing, and officials claim that there are still civilians in the complex.
The mayor of Mariupol claims that there are still 100 civilians in that city.
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