Most of the Russian forces that surrounded the besieged city of Mariupol have not now left, the United States Department of Defense said late Thursday. The forces are now making their way north.

Two battalions remain in Mariupol as of Thursday, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said. These two battalions consist of nearly 2,000 Russian troopers.

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It is unclear if the battalions still surround the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol or have dispersed through the city. The steel mill is the last holdout of Ukrainian forces in the city.

Moscow’s forces are still making only “plodding” and incremental progress as the main fight presses on in the eastern Donbas region, the US Department of Defense announced, according to reports from Associated Press.

The announcement comes as Russia is gearing up to celebrate Victory Day on May 9, which may bring some major shifts in Moscow’s strategy for Ukraine. Victory Day marks the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Multiple media reports claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to tout a major victory in Ukraine when he makes his address during the traditional military parade on Red Square.

However, Kirby said in his daily briefing on Thursday there was no change in Russian behavior or momentum as May 9 draws near, Associated Press reported.

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Meanwhile, reports suggest that evacuation missions from Ukraine’s Mariupol were jointly conducted by Kyiv and the United Nations. Two rounds of evacuations have been carried out so far, and more are expected.

More than 300 people from Mariupol have been brought to safety in the last week. While these included individuals from both the Azovstal steel plant and other parts of Mariupol, it is not clear how many of these were civilians.