The government of Ukraine is begging Russian president Vladimir Putin to allow civilians to leave the devastated and besieged city of Mariupol, as a convoy of 15 buses carrying more than 1,000 evacuees has begun a tense escape through territory being occupied by Russian military forces.
The convoy carrying 1,114 civilians is made up of mostly women and children. They are being escorted by Ukraine’s emergency services, and now face a 125-mile journey from a village on the outskirts of Mariupol, Berdyansk, to the city of Zaporizhzhia.
Mariupol’s city council said in a statement that Russian forces had destroyed 80 percent of the city’s infrastructure in only 22 days. Of that, 30 percent can no longer be rebuilt
Mariupol residents are attempting to survive horrific conditions and bombings. Besieged for about a month, civilians have been deprived of basic necessities, including power, energy, heating, and running water. Between 100,000 and 200,000 people are trapped in the city.
A school was flattened on Sunday, and a few days prior a theatre was also flattened, which was a designated shelter for civilians. The Russian government continues to deny shelling and bombing civilians.
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Lyudmila Denisova, said that it is impossible to actually establish the number of dead and wounded children because Russian forces are actively fighting in Ukrainian cities.
Ukrainian deputy prime minister Iryna Vareshchuk appealed to Russia, asking for humanitarian supplies to be delivered into the city and to allow civilians to leave through humanitarian corridors.
A convoy carrying humanitarian aid was sent ahead to Zaporizhzhia, including flour, food, and medical supplies.
Russian military forces laid down an ultimatum for Ukrainian forces to lay down arms on Monday morning in order to guarantee humanitarian relief. The Ukraine government defied the ultimatum.
Russia wants Mariupol because it is seen as the key to securing a Russian corridor between the separatist Donbas region, and Crimea, which Russia already illegally annexed.
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