https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/lpr-forces-liberate-250-civilians-from-azot-plant-in-severod

LPR forces liberate 250 civilians from Azot Plant in Severodonetsk

Soldiers from the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) evacuated about 250 more civilians, including children, from the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk on Sunday, according to LPR ambassador to Russia Rodion Miroshnik.

"Fighters of the LPR People's forces have evacuated about 250 more people, including children, from the territory of the Azot plant in Severodonetsk. About 200 civilians were evacuated from Azot yesterday," Miroshnik said on Telegram.

On Saturday, Ramzan Kadyrov, the president of Russia's Chechen Republic, announced that the Russian forces had liberated the Azot plant's territory, adding that up to 800 civilians had been evacuated from the plant's underground facilities, where they had been held hostage to serve as a "human shield" by Ukrainian militants.

The Azot chemical plant takes up nearly half of the territory in Severodonetsk. The plant had been under Ukrainian militant control for several weeks after they were pushed and encircled there when Russian and LPR forces took control of the city.

The Russian victory came after Ukrainian troops were forced to retreat from Severodonetsk, a regional governor, after weeks of the city being a key battleground between the Russian and Donbass republics' forces on one hand and the Ukrainian forces on the other.

"Ukrainian armed forces will have to retreat from Severodonetsk. They have received an order to do so," Lugansk governor Sergiy Gaiday said on Telegram, as Severodonetsk falls within the LPR.

"Remaining in positions that have been relentlessly shelled for months just doesn't make sense," he explained. The city has been "nearly turned to rubble" by frequent bombardment.