Drone footage that has been going viral on social media shows the almost complete destruction of Mariupol, a city in southeastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials on Monday, 14 March, claimed at least 2,500 residents have lost their lives since the Russian invasion began on 24 February.
The drone footage shows widespread destruction of the city, with buildings on fire. It also shows small explosions on the streets.
Ukraine Presidential Adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said on Monday that "more than 2,500 residents of the Black Sea port city of Mariupol have been killed since Russian invaded Ukraine".
Other officials have said that the streets are full of dead bodies, and burials in mass graves have begun.
First Successful Evacuation From the City
The city council of Mariupol announced on 14 March that more than 160 private cars had left the city in what became the first successful evacuation since being surrounded by Russian troops two weeks ago.
“It is known that as of 13:00 [11:00 GMT] more than 160 private cars managed to leave from Mariupol,” the city council announced on its official Telegram channel, as quoted by Al Jazeera.
The Humanitarian Crisis
Mariupol, the city council said on Sunday, 13 March, is running out of its last reserves of food and water.
"People have been in a difficult situation for 12 days. There is no electricity, water or heating in the city. There is almost no mobile communication. The last reserves of food and water are running out," its online statement read.
The council added that added that Russian forces have blockaded the city, and are continuing to shell non-military targets.
Dmytro Gurin, a Ukrainian MP who grew up in the city, spoke to the BBC last week about the impending crisis in Mariupol.
"The next thing will be the hunger. This not a joke, in a week you will have famine in the centre of Europe," he said.
The city has been the victim of some of Russia's worst attacks during the invasion, including an airstrike on a children's hospital and a maternity hospital last week.
A pregnant woman and her baby who were injured in the attack, have died.
A picture of the woman being evacuated from the hospital on a stretcher, taken by Evgeniy Maloletka for the Associated Press, went viral on social media and has become a symbol of Russian brutality in Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities said last week that a six-year-old girl had died due to dehydration in her house in Mariupol after Russian forces shelled the building, leading to the death of her mother.
(With inputs from Reuters and Al Jazeera.)
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