'Medieval horrors' of Mariupol siege: Death toll passes 1,500 as deputy mayor says besieged Ukrainian port city is 'totally destroyed' by Russian shelling in hellish scenes
- Death toll has passed 1,500 and the city has been completely destroyed and thousands without food or water
- Many residents have resorted to looting to provide for their families and bodies are being buried in trenches
- Those who did not escape run the risk of dying from cold or starvation in the port city
By GLEN KEOGH FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 09:31 AEDT, 12 March 2022 | UPDATED: 12:32 AEDT, 12 March 2022
The crisis in Mariupol deepened yet further last night as the death toll passed 1,500 and the deputy mayor claimed his besieged city had been 'totally destroyed'.
In hellish scenes not witnessed on European soil since the Second World War, residents have resorted to fighting one another for food while bodies are being buried in trenches before they pile high in the streets.
With Russia laying ruthless siege to the city, thousands of its inhabitants remained without food, water, electricity or heat as relentless shelling continued to blast shops and residential apartments.
Such is their desperation, many trapped residents have resorted to looting to provide for their families.
The crisis in Mariupol deepened yet further last night as the death toll passed 1,500 and the deputy mayor claimed his besieged city had been 'totally destroyed'. Pictured: The aftermath of Russian artillery shelling on a residential area in Mariupol where a rocket hit a house
Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, tweeted: 'Besieged Mariupol is now the worst humanitarian catastrophe on the planet. 1,582 dead civilians in 12 days, even buried in mass graves. Unable to defeat the Ukrainian army, Putin bombs the unarmed, blocks humanitarian aid. We need planes to stop Russian war crimes!'
With temperatures dropping to -9C (15.8F), those who did not manage to escape before Russian troops encircled the perimeter run the risk of dying from thirst, starvation and the cold.
Mariupol has been a Russian target because of its port and strategic location on the Sea of Azov.
Last night all bridges and approaches to the city, in southern Ukraine, had been surrounded or destroyed.
A Russian army tank moves on the outskirts of Mariupol, Ukraine today as the beseiged city is without water and electricity
An explosion is seen in an apartment building after Russian's army tank fires in Mariupol, Ukraine today
A sapper of the State Emergency Service stands at the bottom of a bomb crater amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 9
Mariana Vishegirskaya walks downstairs in of a maternity hospital damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Pictured: Where Russia is targeting during its invasion of Ukraine and Ukraine and Russia's losses
A view shows cars and a building of a hospital destroyed by an aviation strike amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Mariupol, Ukraine, in this handout picture released on March 9
Mariana Vishegirskaya lies in a hospital bed after giving birth to her daughter Veronika, in Mariupol, Ukraine today
Eight trucks carrying humanitarian aid poised to enter are thought to have been stopped. Stephen Cornish, from medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, said: 'Sieges are a medieval practice that have been outlawed by the modern rules of war for good reason.' Sergei Orlov, Mariupol's deputy mayor, said there was 'no way out.' He told Irish broadcaster RTE: 'Russian troops do not allow us to leave our cities. We have no utilities, no electricity, no sanitary system.
'Without water we had the awful [situation] when a child died of dehydration. So people collect snow to melt it to water.
The city is totally destroyed by artillery and... aircraft bombing.' Mr Orlov said 50,000 children including 3,000 babies and toddlers remain in Mariupol. He estimated that about 100,000 of its 450,000 citizens had managed to flee before the siege. He added: 'Unfortunately, we have no opportunity to bury [the dead] in private graves. That's why yesterday we buried 47 people in a mass grave.'
- Ukraine's foreign ministry last night accused Russian soldiers of abducting Ivan Fedorov, mayor of the south-eastern city of Melitopol, which fell nearly two weeks ago.
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Ukraine war: Death toll passes 1,500 as Mariupol 'totally destroyed' by Russian shelling
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