More than 260 Ukrainian soldiers have left the Azovstal steelworks in the city of Mariupol, after weeks of resistance against the Russian invasion.
The troops had fought on after the rest of the besieged city fell to Moscow's forces.
The country's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says it's now time to rescue the defenders - negotiating an exchange for captured Russian soldiers.
Hanna Maliar is Ukraine's deputy defence minister.
"Thanks to the defenders of Mariupol, we have gained critically important time to form reserves to regroup forces and receive aid from our partners.
"Mariupol's defenders have fully accomplished all missions assigned by the commanders."
