Ukrainian authorities announced this evening that they had evacuated more than 260 Ukrainian fighters who had been rooted for weeks at the Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol.

In a message posted today, the Azov regiment defending the site appears to have announced the move from Steelworks.

“In order to save lives, the entire Mariupol army carried out the order approved by the military command and expected the support of the Ukrainian people.”Was written in a message published on social networks. “For 82 days, Mariupol’s defenders issued orders in the face of adversity, pushing back the enemy’s excessive forces, allowing the Ukrainian army to reorganize, train more officers, and receive large quantities of weapons from partner countries.”The press release was added without specifying the content of the orders received.

The messages come just hours after Russia announced a truce in Azovstal to evacuate wounded Ukrainians. The Russian Defense Ministry has announced that it has begun evacuating wounded Ukrainian troops from the steel plant. Russian media outlet RT showed a video of a dozen buses leaving the factory.

Reuters reports that Ukrainian troops from the factory have already arrived in Russian-controlled Novosibirsk.

According to Ukrainian authorities, 1,000 soldiers, including 600 wounded, have been locked up in the factory since the evacuation of women, children and the elderly in late April, thanks to a coordinated operation by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The red of the cross.