Post Russian attack, over 400,000 residents of Ukraine's Mariupol face food, water crises

Amid heavy shelling in several parts of Ukraine, the Mariupol city mayor, on Friday, Vadym Boychenko, said that the area has been cut off from all basic necessities and added the residents were now left out without food and water. In a televised address, he narrated the horrific situation of the city wherein he said that the area of more than 400,000 residents has now been left out without electricity, water, food, medicine and other basic necessities.

He appealed to the European Union, the West and international communities for military assistance in order to create a humanitarian corridor for the safe evacuation of more than 4 lakh residents. Boychenko said that the Russian shellings were now targetting hospitals and added that he did not see any signs of stabilisation in the near future.

"The city lost heating, water, and electricity after five days of non-stop missile attacks by Russian troops. People are running out of food and medicine. About 300 wounded are in hospitals, which are also under attack. We don’t see any signs of stabilisation in the city," Kyiv Independent quoted Mayor Vadym Boychenko as saying.

He accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of destroying humanity and added that Putin wants to wipe out the whole population from the port city. Earlier on Thursday, while speaking to BBC, the city's deputy mayor Serhiy Orlov had narrated the same scenario.

"Mariupol is still Ukrainian right now, we still control inside the perimeter, but there is fighting on the streets on the outskirts and we are on the line of a humanitarian crisis," he told BBC. "We had 15 main power lines and all of them are now down. We are getting completely cut off - destroyed by artillery. Only the natural gas supply is left," he added. 

Russians forces capture southern city of Kherson - a vital Black Sea port

Earlier on Thursday, Ukraine announced that Russian forces seized a major Ukrainian port - Black Sea port - in a bid to cut off the nation from the sea. Though Russian troops had announced the capture of Kherson on Wednesday, the local administration had denied their claims until yesterday.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the local Ukrainian officials confirmed the takeover of the government headquarters in Kherson, making it the first major city to fall since the start of the Russian invasion. As per a report by the news agency Associated Press, heavy fighting has been going on at the outskirts of another strategic port, Mariupol, on the Azov Sea.

As per the news agency, the cutting of Ukraine’s access to the Black and Azov seas will further deteriorate the Ukrainian economy. However, Russia would be greatly benefitted as it allows Moscow to build a land corridor to Crimea.

Image: AP