Dozens of civilians evacuated from besieged Mariupol steel plant

Ukrainian soldiers arrive at an abandoned building to rest and receive medical treatment after fighting on the front line for two months near Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, on April 30, 2022

The bereaved in Ukraine have been visiting the graves of their loved ones

Roughly 100 civilians have been evacuated from a besieged steel plant in the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday.

The UN said earlier that a "safe passage operation" was going on at the Azovstal plant, the last holdout in the port city that has endured a Russian blockade since the conflict began on February 24, while the International Committee of the Red Cross said it was "currently participating" in the operation.

Neither the UN or the ICRC have said how many civilians they are transporting and it was not immediately clear why the sides had given different figures. 

"Today we finally managed to start the evacuation of people from Azovstal," Zelensky said in a video address, adding that they were due to arrive in Ukraine-controlled Zaporizhzhia on Monday.

He said he hoped the evacuations could continue Monday, adding: "We plan to start at 8 am (0600 GMT)."

The Russian defence ministry earlier confirmed that civilians were leaving, releasing a video that showed cars and buses travelling in the dark marked with a "Z", the letter used by the Russian forces in the conflict.

Western powers have rushed to send military aid to Ukraine and imposed heavy sanctions on Russia.

"If they are making threats, you cannot back down."

Western powers have hit Russia with unprecedented sanctions, and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Sunday more measures were in the pipeline.

Diplomats in Brussels said the EU would propose phasing in a ban on Russian oil imports over a period of six to eight months. 

The speaker of the lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, suggested Moscow could seize Russia-based assets of countries it deems hostile. "It is fair to take reciprocal measures," he said.

The conflict in Ukraine has been most intense in the east and south, although there have been Russian missile strikes across the country, mainly targeting infrastructure and supply lines.

And three people died in the shelling of residential areas in and around the northeastern city of Kharkiv, regional governor Oleg Synegubov said on Telegram.

"Beginning May 1, we will move to the ruble zone," Kirill Stremousov, a civilian and military administrator of Kherson, was cited as saying earlier by Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti.

- 'Guard the line' -

But Ukrainian forces have also recaptured some territory in recent days, particularly around Kharkiv.

"It was two months of terrible fear. Nothing else, a terrible and relentless fear," Natalia, a 28-year-old evacuee from Ruska Lozova, told AFP after reaching Kharkiv.

"Everyone understands that we must guard the line here," Lieutenant Yevgen Samoylov of the 81st Brigade told AFP as his unit rotated away from the front line near the town of Sviatogirsk.

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