More than 100,000 civilians remain in Mariupol without electricity, communication, medicine or heating as Russia prepares its “final offensive”

The humanitarian situation in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, located on the shores of the Azov Sea and of strategic interest to Russian forces, continues to worsen and more than 100,000 people are barely enduring under extreme conditions, without the most basic supplies.

The area has been under siege for weeks, thanks to agreements to establish evacuation corridors which, according to Russian authorities, have allowed more than 125,000 people to leave until early April, reports the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

However, there would still be more than 100,000 citizens inside “on the verge of humanitarian catastrophe,” as Mayor Vadim Boichenko warned on Monday at a press conference. According to British Intelligence, there are more than 160,000 and “the situation is getting worse”.

The British Ministry of Defence, which compiles its own balance sheets on the evolution of the conflict in Ukraine, warned on Wednesday that Mariupol's neighbors “do not have electricity, communication, medicine, heating and water”. The Russians would be preventing access to aid, “probably” to seek Ukrainian forces to “surrender,” London said.

Boichenko regretted the delays in evacuations this week, despite theoretical agreements between Kiev and Moscow, noting that some citizens had directly chosen to leave in private vehicles to Berdyansk, a town controlled by Russian troops, via a “very difficult and intermittent” route.

Ukrainian forces reported on Wednesday that the attacks on Mariupol are continuing, with no precise casualty balance for now. The Ukrainian authorities assume that there will be thousands and the UN, which conducts an independent count, admits that there is a lack of data on areas that remain inaccessible. Mariupol is one of them.

Control of this area is key to Russia's interests in consolidating a land corridor between the Crimean peninsula and areas of the Donbas controlled by separatist rebels.

RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE

The Russian Army announced yesterday the final offensive for the seizure of the port city of Mariupol (Sea of Azov) after the deadline for Ukrainian forces to lay down their arms and leave the city in the direction of Kiev-controlled territory expired.

“We have repeatedly informed Kiev through all accessible channels of the proposals about the possibility of withdrawing from Mariupol of Ukrainian Armed Forces units that lay down their weapons,” said the spokesman of the Russian Defense Ministry, General Igor Konashenkov, in his afternoon part.

According to the Russian general, from 6 a.m. local time yesterday, the proposal to the Ukrainian military to hand over weapons and leave on a safe route to territories controlled by the Ukrainian authorities was reiterated, which was ignored.

“Taking into consideration Kiev's disinterest in preserving the life of its soldiers, Mariupol will be freed from nationalist units by the Armed Forces of Russia and the Donetsk People's Republic,” he warned.

He said that in the morning the Russian Army thwarted a new attempt to evacuate under the command of the nationalist Azov battalion with the shooting down of two Mi-8 helicopters that were trying to reach the city from the sea.

(with information from EP)

KEEP READING: