Ukraine says in talks with Russia over evacuation of injured from Mariupol's Azovstal

KYIV - Ukraine is holding negotiations with Russia over the evacuation of seriously injured soldiers from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Thursday.

Ukraine seeks to exchange 38 severely injured soldiers from Azovstal for the captured Russian military, Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram.

Currently, there are no talks on the exchange of 500 or 600 people, which has been reported by some media outlets, Vereshchuk said.

She emphasized that the ongoing negotiations between Ukraine and Russia on the Azovstal evacuation are very difficult.

On May 7, Vereshchuk said that Ukraine has evacuated all women, children and the elderly from the Azovstal plant.

Mariupol, a key Azov Sea port city in eastern Ukraine, saw one of the worst bouts of violence in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The Azovstal plant, which covers an area of about 11 square kilometers, is the holdout of the Ukrainian forces in Mariupol.