The deadline for the surrender of Ukrainian forces in Mariupol set by a Russian ultimatum has passed with no sign that the troops have complied.

The final Ukrainian holdouts have taken refuge in the city’s massive Azovstal steel plant, reportedly accompanied by 1,000 civilians.

The ultimatum from Moscow comes as a local Ukrainian commander warns that his soldiers can only hold out for “days or hours.”

However, Kyiv claims that a tentative agreement has been reached to evacuate some inhabitants from the city.

Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister, posted on Facebook that the accord will allow women, children, and the elderly to escape Mariupol.

Ukraine intends to send 90 buses to evacuate roughly 6,000 people on Wednesday, according to the city’s mayor, Vadym Boichenko, who spoke to national television. Around 100,000 people are still stranded in Mariupol, according to him.

Remaining residents who wanted to flee were told to gather at 14:00 local time (11:00 GMT), when a convoy of buses was expected to transport them to western Ukraine.

However, it is unclear whether or not the evacuation has taken place.

“It’s too early to say what will happen,” Serhiy Orlov, Mariupol’s deputy mayor, told the source.

He also stated that local officials had yet to get assurance from Russian soldiers that the citizens would be permitted to leave.

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