By Bond Robertson 
A cease-fire was agreed to evacuate wounded Ukrainian soldiers from the Azovstal steel plants in Mariupol, according to Russia. Pictures from Reuters showed that the evacuation should take place.
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The Russian Defense Ministry reported that an agreement was reached with representatives of the Ukrainian army detained in Azovstal in Mariupol for the evacuation of the wounded.
Reuters reported that the evacuation was underway, and that 12 buses with an unknown number of soldiers had left the steel mills.
Pictures taken by the news agency’s photographer show buses, apparently, of wounded soldiers on stretchers coming out of steel factories, accompanied by an escort of the Russian occupation forces.
Ukraine had earlier reported that there were 40 wounded soldiers in steel plants.
It will be sent to an area controlled by Russia
According to the Defense Ministry, the soldiers are being evacuated to the Russian-controlled city of Novoazovsk, where medical services can be accessed, according to Reuters.
The Russian Defense Ministry says a “silence regime” has been in place as long as the evacuation continues.
Ukraine has yet to confirm the agreement, and Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malgar says too much information could harm the process.
– Since the operation is underway, we cannot say what is happening now, she says to Ukrainian television.
In recent days, Russia and Ukraine have negotiated an agreement to guarantee freedom of movement for Ukrainian soldiers held inside steel plants. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Verychuk described the negotiations as “extremely difficult”.
It reported last week that there were more than 1,000 soldiers left in the steel mills, and hundreds of them were injured.
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Thousands of civilians may have been killed
The heavily bombed steel mills were the last remaining stronghold of Ukrainian forces in the city, which were besieged soon after the Russian invasion began on February 24.
Steel plants are located on a large area, corresponding to about 11 square kilometers.
Several civilians were also at the steel mills, but most were evacuated last month with help from the United Nations and the Red Cross.
Mariupol, which had a population of more than 400,000 people before the war, was almost completely destroyed by the Russian war.
The mayor said earlier that he estimated around 21,000 civilians had been killed, but the exact number is difficult to calculate due to the ongoing war.