(NewsNation) — Russian forces have captured the eastern outskirts of the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukraine’s military announced Saturday.
The city has been under a two-week siege, with no electricity, gas, or water. Repeated efforts to evacuate people from the city of 430,000 have fallen apart as humanitarian convoys come under shelling.
New images show residents melting snow for drinking water and fighting over food because there isn’t enough to go around. Corpses are lying in the street, and hungry people are breaking into stores searching for food.
Thousands of civilians are huddled in basements as Russian shelling pounds the strategic port city.
Russian troops continue to push their way forward through Ukraine, encircling the country’s major cities, including the capital, Kyiv, and Kharkiv and Mariupol.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insists that Kyiv will not be falling unless every single fighter in the city is killed. He has said he still believes that the city will be able to hold for the imminent future.
With Russia gaining control of not just one but two nuclear plants, it now has a lot of power over Ukraine, including the ability of cities like Mariupol being able to switch the lights on and off.
The concern that military experts have now is that what will happen in Kyiv is similar to what is happening in Mariupol, with supply chains being cut off. Should this happen, the Russian army will be able to starve the city to death.
In Western Ukraine, some of the airports are being attacked by long-range missiles by the Russians. Concern here is is that this is the portion of the country where the supply chains are in check.
At the ground level, Ukrainians have been able to defend themselves on the ground level, performing well against the Russian military on their own home soil. However, to help protect themselves in the air, Ukrainian officials are calling for a no-fly zone over the country.