As Russia continues their vicious attack on Ukraine for weeks on end, they have now started to block aid to the suffering civilians in cities that are being attacked, according to Ukrainian officials. Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Iryna Vereshchuk, said that Russian soldiers were blocking a convoy of aid that was trying to reach the city of Mariupol, where Ukrainian citizens are starving and have no clean water as they try to flee the ongoing war. As citizens evacuated the city, the convoy remained stuck at Berdyans’k, unable to get through the Russian bombardment of explosives. Although the Russian government has continuously denied targeting civilians throughout their attacks, this is just the latest proof of their lie. The convoy is sending supplies from the Red Cross and other international aid organizations.
Russia did not comment on the situation explicitly, but Russian officials have repeatedly placed the blame on the Ukrainian government for “not establishing safe passage for civilians or convoys” throughout the whole invasion. Obviously, this is yet another lie by the Russian government about the entire situation, as detailed by Vereshchuk in a speech on Tuesday. She stated, “Our side ensures a complete ceasefire. Russia, as usual, is cynically lying, thinking that people and the world do not see it and do not understand.” Contrary to what Russian officials have said, Ukrainian authorities have worked tirelessly for the past 10 days to create a safe passageway out of the city for civilians, but Russian soldiers have not allowed it. There was only a brief window of time between shelling and shooting from Russian soldiers in which a few citizens were able to escape. An aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “At one o’clock (1100 GMT) the Russians opened a checkpoint and those who have cars and fuel began to leave Mariupol in the direction of Zaporizhzhia. In the first two hours, 160 cars left. There are probably already many more now. The city continues to be bombed but this road is not being shelled. We don’t know when the first cars can get to Zaporizhzhia as there are still many Russian checkpoints that need to be passed.”
Mariupol, a port city on the southeastern coast of Ukraine, is full of unarmed civilians yet it has continuously been the target of intense shelling attacks throughout the duration of the invasion. Local officials have reported that over 2,500 civilians in this city have died, and despite Russian accusations, this is not due to the fault of the Ukrainian government for not helping citizens escape; it is solely due to the vicious and unwarranted attacks by the Russian military. The Russian government continues to lie to the world as the violence increases and as more and more civilians are harmed. Russian soldiers deterring aid vehicles from reaching civilians who are “being suffocated” is just another example of the ways in which Russia continues to violate human rights throughout this war. At the same time this is occurring, investigations into human rights violations and war crimes committed by Russia during this invasion by NATO nations and the United Nations have been starting. It’s possible that this could even be one of the situations investigated because denial of medical aid and human necessities like food and water is definitely an abuse of human rights. As much as the international community wants to help and as much aid as they are donating and fundraising for, it is futile if Russia is attacking so hard that the aid can’t even reach dying civilians. The more civilians in Mariupol die before the aid convoys can arrive, the more innocent blood is on Russia’s hands as they continue their plethora of attacks.
