Russian tanks take up positions among civilian apartment blocks

In the besieged city of Mariupol, living conditions have badly deteriorated and civilians are unable to leave safely.

On Saturday, Ukrainian authorities said thousands of civilians remain trapped in the southeastern city and accused Russian forces of breaching an agreement to pause fire to allow safe passage out.

“The situation in Mariupol is desperate,” Mirella Hodeib, spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told CNN.

“People are now in their 10th day without water, without electricity, living in shelters, shelters are packed. The essentials are missing, a lot of healthcare needs as well.

“People need to have a safe passage to leave Mariupol and any other location where hostilities are active.”

According to Hodeib, the ICRC is “willing to facilitate” such a passage and is speaking to both Ukraine and Russia in a bid to safely evacuate civilians.  

“Safe passage is mandatory under international humanitarian law and both parties would need to agree on providing safe passage to civilians leaving those areas,” she said.