War against Ukraine: Mariupol still under fire

In Mariupol, the next attempt to bring civilians to safety is also in danger of failing: According to Ukrainian sources, the port city is constantly being shelled by the Russian side. The Russian advance on Kyiv also continues.

According to the Ukrainian army, the Ukrainian port of Mariupol is still under fire – although an escape corridor should be open there for the population. The projectiles would hit residential buildings and a university building in the city was also damaged, the army press office said. Information about the victims was initially not available. Impacts were seen on video. One square was littered with rubble. On Telegram, the Mariupol City Council blamed Russia for the attack.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the shelling again prevented an aid convoy from bringing urgently needed goods to the trapped residents. “The relief supplies were brought back to Zaporizhia,” Ukrainian media quoted Vereshchuk as saying. “There is hope that things might get a little better as the day progresses, however Mariupol is blocked for both people trying to get out of the city and for aid supplies.” If people receive news about a possible stable escape corridor, they should not hesitate for a second and flee immediately, the deputy head of government continued.

Several attempts to evacuate civilians from the city had failed in the past few days. Mariupol in the southeast of the country officially has 400,000 inhabitants.

Mutual criticism after shelling of maternity hospital

A maternity hospital was bombed in Mariupol on Wednesday. According to the city administration, three civilians were killed in the attack, including a child, and 17 people were injured. Although the Russian side has always refused to bomb civilian targets, this time Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov did not deny responsibility for the attack on the clinic. At a meeting with his Ukrainian colleague Dmytro Kuleba in Antalya, Turkey, he described criticism of Russia’s actions as “pathetic screams” from the enemy. Lavrov said the clinic had previously been taken by right-wing Ukrainian fighters who used it as a base.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Seleskyj firmly rejected this. “The Russians were lied to (on TV) that there were supposedly no patients in the hospital and no women and children in the birthing center,” he said in a video message. It’s all “lies”. “These are children, women, medical workers,” said the head of state. The “propagandists” on Russian television would be held accountable.

Zelenskyj also commented on efforts to set up humanitarian corridors to Mariupol, among other places. “Russian troops have already created a humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine,” he said. That is part of the Russian plan. “They want to humiliate our people so that they kneel and take bread and water from the hands of the occupiers.” Mariupol and Wolnowacha in the Donetsk region would be blocked in such a way that people could only flee in the direction of Russia. According to the Mariupol Municipality, around 1,200 people have been killed during the nine-day siege of Mariupol.

“Every second inhabitant left Kyiv”

Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, there has apparently been a massive flight from the capital Kyiv. According to information from Kiev’s Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, almost every second resident has now left the city. There are only about two million people left in the metropolitan area. According to official figures, Kyiv itself has almost three million inhabitants. According to Klitschko, the city resembles a fortress. “Every street, every house (…) is paved. The territorial defense follows,” he said on Ukrainian television. Even people who would never have thought this possible are now wearing uniforms and submachine guns.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian general staff reported that the Russian armed forces continued their “offensive operation” to encircle the capital Kyiv on Thursday night. Within a few days, the front line around the Ukrainian capital has shifted significantly: Five days ago, the Russian army was still around a hundred kilometers northeast of Kyiv, but on Wednesday it was approaching the city of Brovary, which borders Kyiv, as AFP reporters reported.

Killed more than 70 children

According to the Ukrainian parliament’s human rights commissioner Lyudmyla Denizova, 71 children have been killed in the country since the war began two weeks ago. More than 100 were also injured, Denisova said on Telegram. According to Health Minister Viktor Lyaschko, a total of 63 hospitals were hit in attacks, five medical workers were killed and more than 10 seriously injured. “There are also slightly wounded people who are already back on duty,” the Unian agency quoted the minister as saying.