Desperate mothers and children trapped in a dark basement cry out for rescue as they are rained down by Russian bombs in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
After almost two weeks of non-stop Russian bombing, lawyer Viktoria Konovalova is pleading with the world to help evacuate a group of 20 women, children and the elderly, with whom she shelters without heat or water.
Against the background of sobbing children and a voice trembling with fear, Ms. Konovalova cries: “We are in Mariupol. Today is March 13th. We are in the basement.
Desperate mothers and children made a heartbreaking call for salvation. They are locked in a dirty basement as Russian bombs rain down on them.
“There are 20 children and older [old] people. We don’t have food, first aid and basic necessities. Shops and pharmacies have been destroyed.”
In a video that has been circulated on social media, she adds, “We don’t have [heating] gas supply and water supply. War planes are flying above us, dropping bombs.
“Please organize a humanitarian corridor for us! Please help us!
“Please help our children escape from here!”
Since the encirclement by Russian troops shortly after the start of the war, gas, water supply and electricity have been cut off in Mariupol.
A port city on the Black Sea coast is at the center of a growing humanitarian crisis as food and medical supplies run out and humanitarian aid is denied access. The city is under constant shelling by Russian troops, and about 350,000 residents have been blocked in it.
Local authorities say that the war has claimed the lives of at least 2,400 civilians, but even they admit that this is an underestimate.
Hundreds of civilians are also reportedly crammed into the basement of a large public building, many of them developing serious health problems and lacking food and clean drinking water.
After almost two weeks of constant Russian bombing, lawyer Viktoria Konovalova (pictured) pleads with the world to help evacuate a group of 20 women, children and old people she hid with without heat or water.
The besieged residents felt some relief after 2,000 people left Mariupol, and another 2,000 were waiting to leave, but no help was allowed.
It is not known whether Ms. Konovalova and others in the video are among those who managed to escape to safety.
Last week, after Russian troops bombed the city’s maternity hospital in what was described as a war crime, the mayor of Mariupol urged the international community to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine in an attempt to stop the destruction of his country.
Drone footage captures the moment Russian missiles hit the buildings of the besieged southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which has been surrounded by Moscow troops for a week and a half.
The second frame shows a row of burning high-rise buildings next to a row of charred structures that appear to have been hit by Russian missile attacks in Moscow’s relentless bombardment of the city.
Another video shows puffs of black smoke rising over Mariupol as flashes of artillery fire continue to illuminate the small port city that has endured some of the worst suffering of Moscow’s 19-day war.
The drone also filmed a tank destroyed in close combat, as a result of which the vehicle was engulfed in hot flames and a thick cloud of black smoke.
A woman walks past a building destroyed by Russian shelling in the port city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine on Sunday, March 13.
People walk past an explosion crater on Mira Avenue or Prospekt Mira in Mariupol, Ukraine on Sunday, March 13.
People look at a burning residential building in the yard after shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Sunday, March 13.
In an address to world leaders, the mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boychenko, pleaded: “Today I am turning to the world community for help. Close up the sky over Ukraine. Our will is not broken, we will fight to the end.
“We have motivated soldiers and officers who are defending our Motherland. But today we need support.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also echoed Mr. Boichenko’s views and called on Western allies to “close the skies” over his country, saying Russia was trying to “destroy” it.
He released his address during a virtual address to the Canadian Parliament and a day before a scheduled speech to US lawmakers.
He called: “Imagine when you call your friends – your friendly people – and ask, please close the sky. Close airspace, please stop bombing, how many more cruise missiles must fall on our cities until you do this.
The Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and MailOnline APPEALS OF REFUGEES IN UKRAINE
Readers of Mail Newspapers and MailOnline have always shown great generosity in times of crisis.
Invoking this human spirit, we are now launching an appeal to raise money for refugees from Ukraine.
For, of course, no one can help but be touched by the heartbreaking images and stories of families – mostly women, children, the infirm and the elderly – fleeing the invading Russian military.
As the number of suffering increases in the coming days and months, these innocent victims of the tyrant will need housing, schools and medical care.
All Mail Ukraine Appeal donations will be distributed to charitable and humanitarian organizations providing such important services.
In the name of mercy and compassion, we call on all our readers to donate quickly and generously.
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