Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday confirmed the evacuation of civilians from the Mariupol steel plant.

"The 1st group of about 100 people is already heading to the controlled area. Tomorrow we'll meet them in Zaporizhzhia," he tweeted.

Ukraine will continue the evacuation from the besieged city of Mariupol, head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak said on Sunday evening.

According to Petro Andryushchenko, an advisor to the mayor of Mariupol, the evacuation began at 4 p.m. local time (1300 GMT) on Sunday.

But the Russian side on Sunday reported that 80 civilians left the Azovstal plant in Mariupol.

The Russian Defense Ministry also said civilians who wished to leave were delivered to representatives of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

(With input from Xinhua)