MOSCOW, May 11. /TASS/. All civilians were evacuated from the territory of Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant, so the DPR people’s militias ‘have a free hand’, the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, told the Rossiya-1 TV channel on Wednesday.

"<…> According to the information we have, there are no civilians left there [inside the Azovstal plant], therefore our units now have a free hand," he said. According to Pushilin, about 1,200 Ukrainian military are holed up the Azovstal steelmaking complex in Mariupol. They are short of ammunition, but continue to offer resistance, the DPR leader added.

Mariupol is the largest city of the Sea of Azov, one of the key metallurgical centers of Donbass and a seaport. Two major ironworks are located in the city - the Ilyich metal plant and Azovstal. The Azovmash engineering plant is also situated in Mariupol.

The battles for Mariupol erupted on February 25. By now, Ukrainian nationalist formations have been driven out of Mariupol’s residential areas. Ukrainian nationalists remain holed up in Azovstal, blocked by Russian troops.