A day after "two super bombs" were dropped by Russian forces in the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday, 23 March, that over 1,00,000 people were trapped in the city.
He said, “As of today, there are about 1,00,000 people in the city in inhuman conditions, completely blockaded, without food, without water, without medicines, subject to constant shelling, constant bombardment."
Zelenskyy had earlier said in a video address to the Italian parliament that "There is nothing left there. Only ruins."
Local Mariupol authorities had said after the blasts, "It is clear that the occupiers are not interested in the city of Mariupol, they want to raze it to the ground, to reduce it to ashes," news agency AFP reported.
A fire from a suspected Russian strike is seen on an apartment block on the eastern side of Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, 17 March.
(Photo: AP/PTI)
This comes almost a month after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. While United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has claimed that Russia has failed to accomplish its goals, the country waging war has set its target on capturing the port city of Mariupol.
Mariupol, only a few kilometres away from the pro-Russian separatist-controlled regions in eastern Ukraine, is located on the Azov Sea.
The geographical position of Mariupol, therefore, makes it important to Russia, because conquering the city would allow Moscow to build a bridge or any kind of a land corridor from Luhansk and Donetsk to Crimea, which has been under Russian control since the 2014 annexation.
Click here to read why Mariupol is important to Russia.
President Zelesnkyy Reaches Out to Pope Francis
Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy also spoke to Pope Francis, asking him to mediate in the ongoing conflict to alleviate human suffering.
Zelenskyy said in a tweet, “Told His Holiness about the difficult humanitarian situation and the blocking of rescue corridors by Russian troops. The mediating role of the Holy See in ending human suffering would be appreciated. Thanked for the prayers for Ukraine and peace.”
(With inputs from AFP.)
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