Mariupol mayor fears humanitarian catastrophe, says city must be completely evacuated

By: 3 years ago

A shell crater is seen in the street during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port of Mariupol, Ukraine March 27, 2022. REUTERS

LVIV, Ukraine — The southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe and must be completely evacuated, its mayor said on Monday.

Mayor Vadym Boichenko said about 160,000 civilians were trapped in the city without power. Twenty-six buses were waiting to evacuate civilians but Russian forces had not agreed to give them safe passage, he said.

“The Russian Federation is playing with us,” he said. Russia denies targeting civilians and blames Ukraine for the repeated failure to agree on safe corridors for trapped civilians.