UN aid chief gives bleak assessment of situation in Mariupol; 'we are failing people'

The chief of UN emergency relief efforts gave a bleak assessment of the situation on the ground as Russian troops continue to besiege the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. "No doubt we are failing the people of Mariupol. It's a place I have described as a centre of hell," Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, was quoted as saying by CBS News. He claimed that the United Nations (UN) receives offers on a daily basis to build humanitarian corridors that are not cleared by one side or the other, due to which many people are trapped in the war-torn country of Ukraine.  

"We don't really know the numbers of people still caught and blocked and unable to get out from Mariupol," the UN official added. For the past seven weeks, Mariupol has been under constant shelling, leaving much of the city in ruins. Officials estimate that at least 21,000 people have been killed so far and around 120,000 people are still residing in the city. Earlier on April 17, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's Foreign Minister, claimed that the military situation in Mariupol is grave and "the city doesn't exist anymore." 

UN has been 'powerless in stopping Russian invasion': Zelenskyy 

Addressing the UN Security Council (UNSC) earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the UN has rallied agencies on the ground in Ukraine to provide food, clean water, medicine, and other necessities, but it has been "powerless to stop the invasion by the Russian forces." Meanwhile, Griffith stated that mediation efforts are yet to be successful. He also claimed that his agency has requested a meeting between Russia and Ukraine to discuss humanitarian measures such as a ceasefire, monitoring, safe passage, corridors, and other objectives. The UN representative also indicated that he will be travelling to Turkey this week to follow through on President Erdogan's mediation efforts.

UN chief warns world population will suffer if Ukraine crisis continues to intensify

According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at least one-fifth of the population across the world might face terrifying levels of poverty and famine if the Ukraine crisis continues to intensify. The UN chief also voiced concerns over the disruption of food grain exports from Ukraine to developing countries, which could lead people to be "collateral damage" of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Guterres further claimed that the war is supercharging a three-dimensional crisis - food, energy, and finance. 

Image: AP