20 women, children evacuated from embattled Russian steel plant

According to a Ukrainian commander in the factory and Russian state media, about 20 women and children have been evacuated from Mariupol's embattled Azovstal steel plant.

The news came amid United Nations backed efforts to broker a cease-fire to allow hundreds of trapped civilians and Ukrainian fighters to escape the factory, the last bastion of resistance in the besieged city of Mariupol.

In a video posted to Telegram, Capt. Svyatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov regiment at the plant, said after hours of waiting an evacuation convoy had arrived at an agreed location on Saturday to bring civilians from the plant's ruins to a safe place. He told The New York Times that if the Russians don't start shooting again, evacuation efforts would continue on Sunday. He didn't provide any further details, but Russia's TASS news agency said one of its correspondents reported that 25 people - including six children - had emerged from the plant. The Russian state news agency, RIA Novosti, reported the same.