“No food for children”
Red Cross sends out a call for help from Mariupol
03/12/2022, 3:00 p.m
The Ukrainian port of Mariupol has been surrounded by the Russian army for more than ten days. A Red Cross employee describes the catastrophic living conditions of the people who have since been trapped in the city without electricity, water or food.
According to helpers, a humanitarian disaster is threatening the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which has been surrounded for days. As the International Committee of the Red Cross reported on Twitter, lack of food, medicine and heating facilities. The aid organization relies on its employee Sascha Volkow, who is on site. Accordingly, he is with more than 60 people in an office building.
“Some people still have food, but I’m not sure how long it will last. Many say they have no food for children,” reads one of the tweets. If the drinking water runs out, you can boil water from the river – with the help of a generator that produces electricity for three to four hours a day. “Compared to others, we’re doing well,” concludes Volkov.
However, many people would be bothered by the low temperatures. “There is no possibility of heating,” says Volkov. “People get sick because of the cold”. Above all, diabetes and cancer patients lack medication, but “there is no longer any way to find anything in the city.” Most people would sleep in the offices, the basement was reserved for small children and their mothers.
According to Mariupol authorities, at least 1,500 people have been killed since the siege began. According to the ICRC, there are still around 300,000 civilians in the port city. The aid organization Doctors Without Borders warned of an “unimaginable tragedy”.