Mariupol death toll soars to nearly 5,000 as Ukraine and Russia meet for fresh peace talks
Fighting in the besieged southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol has already claimed the lives of almost 5,000 people, including 210 children, authorities have said, while 160,000 remain trapped.
The Black Sea city has been under a blockade since the war broke out, with its residents having no access to water, food, or power and the International Red Cross saying on Monday it had no access to the area due to ongoing fighting.
Multiple humanitarian corridors had been agreed but most of them failed as Russia and Ukraine traded accusations of breaching ceasefires. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has branded the situation in the city a “genocide” after a maternity hospital was bombed, killing four. A theatre sheltering an estimated 1,300 civilians was also targeted, killing at least 300 people.
Harrowing reports have emerged from the city, with one resident, Sergey Zozulya, 47, telling i he had part of his arm blown off as he cooked food on some fire just outside his house. He believes his 80-year-old mother – who he had to leave behind when he escaped with his two children and wife – is now dead, as is his brother.
It comes as Russia and Ukraine negotiators are ready for a fresh round of peace talks in Turkey, the first in almost two weeks, but there is little confidence there will be a breakthrough.
Mr Zelensky said on Sunday he was open to discussing Ukraine’s neutrality on Nato but he would not compromise on the nation’s sovereignty.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said of the talks in Turkey: “We are not trading people, land or sovereignty.”
“The minimum program will be humanitarian questions, and the maximum program is reaching an agreement on a ceasefire,” he said on national television.
A senior US State Department official said Russian President Vladimir Putin did not appear ready to make compromises to end the war.
Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko said that he doubted there would be any breakthrough.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said talks so far had not yielded any substantial progress but it was important they continued in person. He declined to give more information.
