Ukraine working to pull last fighters from Mariupol mill

Hundreds of Ukrainian fighters defending the last holdout in Mariupol were evacuated to areas controlled by Russian-backed separatists and officials worked Tuesday to get the rest out, signaling the beginning of the end of a siege that became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.

Russia called the operation a mass surrender. The Ukrainians avoided using that word — but said the garrison had completed its mission.

More than 260 fighters — some severely wounded — were pulled from a steel plant on Monday that is the last redoubt of Ukrainian fighters in the city and transported to two towns controlled by separatists, officials on both sides said. Other fighters — their precise numbers unknown — remain inside the Azovstal steelworks that sprawl over 11 square kilometers (4 square miles) in a city otherwise controlled by Russian forces.

The complete capture of the plant would mark a significant milestone. It would give Russia