Work on demining the Azovstal plant in the city of Mariupol in Ukraine has been accelerated, but it will still take two to three weeks to completely clean up, the head of the "Donetsk People's Republic" (DPR) Denis Pushilin told Russia's RIA news agency on Thursday.   

He said all Ukrainian fighters hiding out at Azovstal will be found, as some may still be in there "hiding or lagging behind when surrendering.” 

On May 17, Ukraine's military command said the mission to defend the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol was over and pledged to rescue servicemen still trapped inside.

Later in the week, Russian forces claimed the "complete liberation" of the Azovstal steel plant and Mariupol as a whole.