The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned of an impending humanitarian disaster in the Azov Sea city of Mariupol, with a “worst-case scenario” likely for civilians stranded in the besieged port, an ICRC statement said, on March 14.
Ukrainian officials have estimated the number of civilians trapped in Mariupol at more than 200,000. Russian Federation (RF) forces have locked down the city for almost two weeks, preventing refugees from escaping and supply trucks from going in.
The ICRC statement said, in part, “We call on all parties involved in the fighting to place humanitarian imperatives first. People in Mariupol have endured a weeks-long life-and-death nightmare. This needs to stop now. Their safety and their access to food, water and shelter must be guaranteed.”
Two relief convoys dispatched by Ukraine’s central government approached to some 30 kilometers of the city on Sunday evening, before, according to Kyiv, being turned back by RF forces. There was no immediate comment by RF officials on the claim.
Over the past ten days attempts to send humanitarian convoys to Mariupol have failed, with both sides accusing each other of firing on the trucks. Ukraine Armed Forces (UAF) units within the city have accused the RF of targeting primarily civilian homes and businesses, a charge widely substantiated by hundreds of social media images of destroyed and damaged Mariupol apartment buildings, private residences, stores and distribution centers.
On Mar. 9 an RF plane bombed a Mariupol children’s hospital, killing at least three and injuring seventeen. Over Sunday, according to UAF reports, the RF air force dropped at least 100 bombs on the city. A statement on the evening of March 13 from one of the keystone units in the Ukrainian defense, the Azov National Guard Regiment, said fighting inside the city was continuing but that defenses would hold. The unit said it destroyed six RF tanks and other RF combat vehicles in overnight battles, and posted images purportedly depicting the kills. Kyiv Post was unable to confirm the claim independently.
