Mariupol's mayor said his city, facing brutal bombardment by Russian troops, was "on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe," with over 100,000 people left without "light, water, food, or medicine for over a month."
Vadym Boichenko insisted residents trapped in the besieged city be provided a safe way out of the war zone but pointed out that Russian forces had blocked access to humanitarian convoys, claiming that "no cargo" had yet been able to reach the area.
Despite agreements with Russia, Boichenko said buses for evacuating refugees had failed to arrive and while some had managed to access Russian-occupied Berdiansk, the way there had proven "very difficult and intermittent."
The mayor further said that while about 90,000 refugees have fled to territory controlled by Ukrainian forces, the remaining 100,000 "cannot be evacuated," and urged the international community to come to their rescue.
A Red Cross team was unable to enter Mariupol last Friday as residents sought refugee in safer parts of the country.
The unit of nine aid workers said they had attempted to reach the city to help with the safe passage of residents from the area but were forced to return to Zaporizhzhia after encountering conditions that “made it impossible to proceed."
According to a Global News report, they were attempting to lead a convoy of 54 buses and some private cars out of the city.
Other attempts of getting supplies into the besieged the city have met little or no success, with each side blaming the other.