The Ukrainian defenders of a steel mill in Mariupol have completed their mission and the most seriously wounded have been evacuated, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday. 

    More than 260 fighters were taken by agreement to get medical help in areas controlled by Russian forces, Zelenskyy said. 

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said an exchange for their return would be worked out. 

    Officials said efforts would be made to save the remaining defenders — estimated to be from a few hundred to 1,000 — in the underground passages below the Azovstal steelworks.

    “The work to bring the guys home continues, and it requires delicacy and time,” Zelenskyy said.