“Not everything is in our power,” Mayor Vadym Boichenko said in a live television interview. “Unfortunately today we are in the hands of the conquerors.”
Bojchenko called for the complete evacuation of the remaining population of Mariupol, home to more than 400,000 people, before Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
“According to our estimates, about 160,000 people are currently in the besieged city of Mariupol, where it is impossible to live because there is no water, electricity, heat, connection,” he said. “And it’s really scary.”
It was not clear if there were still active fighting inside the city.
Ukrainian officials have claimed that Russian forces prevented humanitarian convoys from approaching or leaving the city safely.
A pro-Russian separatist leader said on Sunday that about 1,700 Mariupol residents were being “evacuated” daily from the city and its environs. Ukrainian officials, however, say thousands have been “deported” violently to Russia.
“We need a complete evacuation from Mariupol,” Boichenko said. “Our most important mission today is to save every life … And there are hopes that we will succeed. For example, there are 26 buses that have to go to Mariupol to evacuate, but unfortunately, they have not been allowed to travel,” he said. he said.
“And this game is played every day. A cynical game like ‘Yes, we’re ready. “You can drive there, but it doesn’t really work,” he said. “Our heroic guides under fire are trying to get to the places where the residents of Mariupol can be missed and are waiting in the hope that they will have such an opportunity. But the Russian Federation is playing with us from day one.”
Statistics released by Ukrainian officials on Sunday give a bleak picture of what has emerged from weeks of bombing and civil war in Mariupol.
About 90% of residential buildings in the city were damaged, the data show. Of these, 60% were hit immediately and 40% were destroyed.
Seven of the city’s hospitals – 90% of the city’s hospital capacity – were damaged, three of which were destroyed. Three maternity hospitals (one damaged), seven higher education institutions (three damaged) and 57 schools and 70 kindergartens were also damaged, with 23 and 28 damaged, respectively.
Many factories were damaged and the city’s port was damaged.
According to official statistics, up to 140,000 people fled the city before the siege and about 150,000 managed to flee during the blockade. Ukrainian officials claim that 30,000 people from Mariupol have been deported to Russia.
