The Latest Breaking News from Mariupol

A group of more than 100 civilians were among the first to be rescued from the sprawling Azvostal steel plant

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) - Ukrainian authorities were hoping Monday to evacuate more civilians from the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, as Russia's offensive in the east of Ukraine continued with "active and heavy" fighting.

The first evacuees from the ruins of Mariupol's Azovstal steel works were expected to arrive in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia later on Monday after weeks of cowering from Russian shelling in underground bunkers.

Russia resumed shelling of the Azovstal steel works in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Sunday as soon as buses evacuating civilians from the plant had left, an aide to the city's mayor said on Monday.

The first civilians evacuated from the bombed-out steel plant that has become the last stronghold of Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol slowly made their way toward safety Monday, as others who managed to escape the city described terrifying weeks of bombardment and deprivation. More than 100 civilians - including elderly women…

The artillery strike took place near the city of Zaporizhzhia in the south-eastern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

The footage was filmed at the Azovstal iron and steelworks plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

Civilians evacuated have been taken to both Russia-controlled and Ukraine-controlled territory

Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, were both captured within days of each other while fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in the besieged city of Mariupol last month