Mariupol mayor fears humanitarian catastrophe, says city must be completely evacuated

LVIV: The southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe and must be completely evacuated, its mayor said on Monday.

Mayor Vadym Boichenko said about 160,000 civilians were trapped in the city without power. Twenty-six buses were waiting to evacuate civilians but Russian forces had not agreed to give them safe passage, he said.

300 feared dead in Russian strike on Mariupol theatre: city hall

“The Russian Federation is playing with us,” he said. Russia denies targeting civilians and blames Ukraine for the repeated failure to agree on safe corridors for trapped civilians.