Latest Russia-Ukraine war news: Live updates

The United Nations has renewed calls for civilians to be given safe passage out of the besieged port city of Mariupol.

Martin Griffiths, U.N. undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, described Mariupol in a statement Thursday as “an epicentre of horror.” Repeated attempts by Red Cross convoys to evacuate civilians failed last week after they were unable to reach the city.

Griffiths announced the death of two aid workers from the Catholic relief group Caritas, along with five of their family members, when their office was hit on March 15. Information on the deaths “has become available only now,” he said.

Mariupol has been under constant bombardment for over a month, as a Russian blockade cuts the city off from food, water, heat and humanitarian aid. The mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boychenko, said Wednesday that 50,000 to 70,000 people remain in and around the city. He previously said that more than 10,000 civilians have been killed.

“It’s a devastating situation: the people being starved to death,” World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley told the Associated Press on Thursday. He predicted that the situation would get worse in Mariupol and Ukraine as a whole but vowed: “We will not give up on the people of Mariupol.”

He also warned that WFP humanitarian operations in other countries would be hit by disruption to grain supplies from Ukraine.