“It is clear that the occupiers are not interested in the city of Mariupol, they want to raze it to the ground, to reduce it to ashes,” the authorities said.
New Delhi: Amid ‘desperate’ attempts of to capture Marupol, Ukraine’s port city, Russian forces on Tuesday reportedly dropped two “super powerful bombs” in the city. Bombs were dropped on the city when Ukrainian authorities were trying to rescue civilians. Like many parts of Ukraine, Mariupol has been facing relentless shelling as Russian forces wanted to take control of it.
“It is clear that the occupiers are not interested in the city of Mariupol, they want to raze it to the ground, to reduce it to ashes,” the authorities said.
Over two lakh are people are trapped in the strategic city described by those who managed to escape as a “freezing hellscape riddled with dead bodies and destroyed buildings”, Human Rights Watch said, quoting figures provided by a local official.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Tuesday at least one lakh civilians wanted to escape from Mariupol in southern Ukraine but could not because of a lack of safe corridors out of the besieged port city.
“We know that there will not be enough space for everyone” on Tuesday, but “we will try to carry out the evacuation until we have gotten all the inhabitants of Mariupol out,” vowed Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk in a video address.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has also requested to Pope Francis for help, urging the pontiff to mediate in the conflict and to help end “human suffering”.
“All issues would be on the table if Russia’s Vladimir Putin agreed to direct talks to end the war,” he added.
