Putin continues brutal assault on besieged Ukranian port city of Mariupol: Buildings are bombarded by heavy shelling with 400,000 people still trapped as Orthodox priests escort humanitarian aid convoy to shield it from Russian attacks
Shocking footage has been released showing a tank firing missiles into tower blocks in Mariupol along with damage caused to bombed-out buildings after the city was besieged yesterday from Russian forces.
The footage shows the residential buildings withstand explosions from strikes as they are repeatedly fired upon.Russian shelling of this Ukrainian port city of 430,000 has been relentless, and the mayor's office says more than 1,500 have died since the siege began.
Putin's forces hammered the city's downtown yesterday as residents hid - many of them in freezing conditions with no food or water.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced humanitarian aid will reach the city this afternoon.
A convoy of supplies was spotted travelling yesterday into Mariupol protected by a group of Orthodox priests, who bravely used their religious appearance in the hope that Russian soldiers would be less likely to fire on them.
The Orthodox clergy members are said to have volunteered to accompany the convoy, which carried 90 tonnes of food and medicine, from nearby Zaporizhzhia and planned to safely evacuate civilians on their return, The Telegraph reports.
Debris of destroyed Mariupol buildings litters the street as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues with heavy shelling
Footage captured some bombed-out homes reduced to a shell, while the facades of several other buildings show clear damage from shelling.
A second video shows the damage done to city, which is located on the Sea of Azov, as a driver explores its deserted streets.
The clip shows how some bombed-out complexes have been reduced to a shell , while the facades of several other buildings show clear damage from shelling.
Satellite images from yesterday also show the scale of the devastation in Mariupol, with multiple fires in the industrial Primorskyi district
The videos emerged today as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that humanitarian aid is expected to arrive in Mariupol this afternoon, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said.
In his address, Zelenskyy said that Mariupol was the government's first priority for aid, as 400,000 people remain trapped in the city without food and water.The president said delays has been caused due to the 'complexity' of the route, which had led to supplies convoy being held overnight in nearby Berdyansk - a city also on the Sea of Azov, located 47 miles west of Mariupol.
Among those who are trapped, there are said to be 3,000 babies and 50,000 children, according to officials
Russian forces yesterday bombed a mosque in Mariupol harbouring over 80 people.
The Ukrainian embassy in Turkey stated that 86 Turkish nationals, including 34 children, were among the people sheltering inside the mosque. Although it is unknown whether there were casualties.
The Ukrainian military tweeted: 'The mosque of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Roxolana (Hurrem Sultan) in Mariupol was shelled by Russian invaders.'
Satellite images from yesterday also show the scale of the devastation in Mariupol, with multiple fires in the industrial Primorskyi district
Other repeated attempts to bring food to Mariupol and evacuate civilians have been cancelled due to ongoing Russian fire. The unceasing shelling has even interrupted efforts to bury the dead in mass graves.
A Ukrainian official said Russian soldiers blocked one humanitarian convoy headed for Mariupol yesterday and stole from another.
Doctors Without Borders said some residents are dying for lack of medication, with the city without drinking water or medicine for over a week now.
An Associated Press journalist witnessed tanks firing on a 9-story apartment block in Mariupol and was with a group of medical workers who came under sniper fire on Friday.
Conditions at a local hospital there were deteriorating, electricity was reserved for operating tables and the hallways were lined with people with nowhere else to go.
Anastasiya Erashova wept and trembled as she held a sleeping child. Shelling had just killed her other child as well as her brother's child. 'No one was able to save them,' she said.
A Ukrainian serviceman walks near the position he was guarding in Mariupol yesterday
Parks and outdoor facilities in Mariupol were reduced to scorched earth yesterday as Russian invaders 'hammered' the city
The aid group says people are resorting to boiling water from the ground or extracted from heating pipes.
Ukraine's military said Russian forces captured Mariupol's eastern outskirts.
Taking Mariupol and other ports on the Azov Sea would be strategic for Russian President Vladimir Putin, as it could allow Russia to establish a land corridor to Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014.
No comments: