At least 20 civilians including several children were able to leave the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Saturday in what could be the start of a long-awaited, larger evacuation of the last holdout in the Russian-held city, AFP reported.

Earlier efforts at evacuations from the Azovstal steel plant had been futile.

Ukrainian fighters of the Azov regiment, which has been defending the site, said 20 civilians had left, possibly for the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, about 225 kilometers (140 miles) to the northwest.

Russia's Tass news agency carried a similar report, though putting the number of evacuees at 25.

A United Nations-planned evacuation had been planned, though it was unclear whether Saturday's evacuation was UN-led and whether further evacuations were imminent. There were no immediate details on the condition of the evacuees.

Ukraine's President Zelensky said in a video Saturday evening that Kyiv was "doing everything to ensure that the evacuation mission from Mariupol is carried out.”