Russia-Ukraine war: Thousands stranded in Mariupol without food and water amid freezing temperatures
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR, 12 MARCH: A mosque in Ukraine’s Mariupol – which was sheltering 80 civilians – was bombed by Russian forces, Ukrainian officials twitted on Saturday that a mosque in Mariupol city which is of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Roxolana (Hurrem Sultan) was shelled by Russian invaders “Including Turkish civilians, adult and children were hiding there from the gunfight,” the tweet said.
Earlier today, a spokesman for the Ukrainian embassy in Turkey said 86 Turkish citizens, including 34 children, were among those who took refuge in a mosque to escape Russian attacks on the besieged port city, citing information received from the mayor of Mariupol.
AFP news agency quoted him as saying at the time, “There are really big communication problems in Mariupol and there is no opportunity to reach them.”
On Friday, Mevlut Cavusoglu, Foreign Minister said that Turkey has evacuated about 14,000 of its citizens from Ukraine.
Hundreds of thousands of citizens have been stranded in Mariupol for more than a week without food, water, or heat and amid cold.
Tass news agency quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying that the city was completely surrounded. An adviser to Ukraine’s interior ministry told AFP the situation was critical.
Ukrainian authorities claim more than 1,500 people have been killed there, and have repeatedly accused Russia of targeting civilian centers and populations. Among those who died this week were three people admitted to a children’s hospital.
Attempts to establish a ceasefire in Mariupol and other bombed cities to release civilians and non-combatants have repeatedly broken down, with Ukraine accusing Russia of deliberately preventing them from fleeing.
Russia has strongly denied such allegations.
Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine is now in its third week and shows no signs of stopping or slowing down, despite financial sanctions against prominent Russian lawmakers (including Minister Sergei Lavrov), billionaires (including Premier League football club owner Roman Abramovich), Banking sector and major industries.
Russia has built a major port city in Kherson (which gives it access to important Black Sea shipping routes), Chernobyl’s abandoned nuclear power plant (which allows faster movement of troops into Ukraine through Belarus, an ally) and Small towns including Melitopol have been occupied. ,
Russia has also taken possession of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, one of the largest nuclear plants in the world, raising fears about its intentions and the threat of nuclear war.
Russian forces also continued to advance into the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, sounding air strike sirens in the city and surrounding areas this morning.