Ukrainian mayors demand no-fly zone to help besieged citizens reach safety

“We are helpless against the bombing. Please protect us,” says Mariupol’s deputy mayor

The mayors of besieged towns and cities across Ukraine have urged the international community to introduce a no-fly zone over the country, saying it is the only way to allow their hungry and desperate citizens to flee to safety.

At an emergency online meeting on Wednesday afternoon, the officials described how their areas were running low on food, water and vital medication. Many of the towns and cities are fully encircled by Russian troops, they said, with all exit routes blocked.

Despite promises from the Kremlin, effective humanitarian corridors have yet to be established, they added.

The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly demanded a no-fly zone to prevent a “humanitarian catastrophe”, but his request has been rebuffed by the west over fears it could spark a wider war.

Mariupol, a city in southeastern Ukraine on the coast of the Sea of Azov, is among the worst hit by Russian bombing.

Deputy mayor Sergei Orlov said its residents have been reduced to “medieval times”, as people use snow for drinking water and build open fires to stay warm because vital infrastructure has been destroyed.

As he spoke, Mariupol city council announced that a children’s hospital in the city had been destroyed by Russian air strikes. The number of casualties is not yet known.

"The Russian occupying forces have dropped several bombs on the children’s hospital. The destruction is colossal," it said in a statement. Mr Zelensky tweeted about the attack, calling it an “atrocity” and saying there were “children under the wreckage”.

In the first two weeks of the conflict, 1,170 civilians in Mariupol have been killed in Russian attacks, Mr Orlov said. He added that the city’s first communal grave was dug on Wednesday, with some of the 47 bodies buried there unable to be identified.

The city’s own reported death toll alone far surpasses the UN’s most recent estimate on the number of people killed during the conflict across the entire country. It said that 516 civilians, including 37 children, had died as of 8 March.

Russia has denied targeting civilians in what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

This map shows the extent of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (Press Association Images)

Mr Orlov said his city only has 21 buses left at its disposal to help hundreds of thousands of people flee, after roughly 130 others were destroyed by Russian troops. He estimated that up to 3,000 people each day could be evacuated on the remaining vehicles.

“We have made the calculation that half of the residents want to leave - that 200,000 residents are desperate to flee,” he said.

Like his counterparts across the country, he urged western powers to implement a no-fly zone.

“We are helpless against the bombing. Please protect us.”

After thanking the mayors for their “titanic effort”, Oleksiy Chernyshov, Ukraine’s communities minister reiterated this message, calling it the “most pressing concern for our country today”.

“The sky has to be the starting point,” he added.

Yuriy Bova, the mayor of Trostyanets, a city in Sumy region to the east of Kyiv, warned that thousands would die if this call was not heeded.

He also noted how resources were becoming more stretched by the hour. “The food situation is becoming dire day by day.”

“All the roads are blocked. No food or medicine can be brought into the city,” Mr Bova added.

Citizens have been shot dead by Russian troops as they walked down the street and cemetery burials are no longer being allowed by the invading forces, he said.

Meanwhile, Oleksandr Baklykov, the leader of the nearby settlement of Lebedyn, said the success of evacuations depended on the whim of Russian troops.

“It’s a matter of luck. Some get through, others do not. The Russians have no humanity,” he said.