Russian forces are holding 15 rescue workers hostage after their humanitarian convoy was stopped on Tuesday en route to the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol, according to reports.
A bus and two rescue vehicles were stopped at a Russian checkpoint 12 miles outside Mariupol in the town of Mangush, according to reports. Russian soldiers then took the 15 members of the convoy hostage, denying the delivery of food and other humanitarian supplies to one of the most intense theaters of the war in Ukraine. Negotiations are reportedly underway for the release of the rescue workers.
“We are trying to organize stable humanitarian corridors for Mariupol residents, but almost all of our attempts, unfortunately, are foiled by the Russian occupiers by shelling or deliberate terror,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday, accusing Russian forces of stopping the aid convoy despite agreeing to the route ahead of time.
The Red Cross confirmed that a humanitarian aid convoy attempting to reach Mariupol had been stopped, according to a report.
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Zelensky estimated that 100,000 civilians remained in the southern port city that has been bombarded for weeks by land, air, and sea.
In recent weeks, Russian forces have bombed numerous civilian targets in Mariupol.
A maternity hospital was shelled on March 10, killing five people and injuring 17, and a drama theater serving as a shelter for civilians was bombed on March 16, reportedly trapping hundreds in the rubble. A school housing hundreds of civilians was also reportedly hit by a Russian bomb over the weekend.
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Capturing Mariupol would be a key strategic gain for Russia. It has a port on the Sea of Azov and lies along a stretch of land dividing Russia from Crimea. Taking Mariupol would give Russian forces a land corridor between the Russian-controlled Crimean Peninsula and the Russian mainland.
