Russia-Ukraine war makes residents even difficult

Special Desk

As war between Russia and Ukraine continues for over 100 days now thousands of civilians are trapped in the Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk with essential supplies very limited and running out fast.

Many of the residents are sheltering in bunkers beneath the city’s Azot chemical plant. The last bridge leading out of the city was destroyed in fighting earlier this week – effectively trapping its 12,000 remaining residents inside.

The situation is when thousands of the residents left Ukraine, including foreigners many of whom were students from different countries.

For weeks capturing Severodonetsk has been a top military goal for Russia, which now controls most of the city. “The lack of water and sanitation is a big worry. It’s a huge concern for us because people cannot survive for long without water,” spokesperson for the UN’s Humanitarian Affairs office Saviano Abreu said.

What exactly remains with residents is not very clear even to the officials as locals survive on hope of war getting over soon. Abreu added that food supplies and health provisions were also running out in Severodonetsk, which is in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region.

The UN is hoping to provide aid to those trapped in the city, but continued fighting means its agencies cannot get access or assurances to safely reach the civilians still there, including women, children and the elderly.

The warning followed Russian promises to open a humanitarian corridor earlier to evacuate civilians trapped beneath the Azot plant. But so far there has been no confirmation that the planned safe route – which would have evacuated civilians into Russian-controlled territory to the city’s north – had actually gone ahead.

“At Azot, militants are trying to disrupt the evacuation. From the territory of the plant, the militants have begun firing from a mortar and a tank,” Rodion Miroshnik, the ambassador to Moscow of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, said on social media platform.

While civilians took shelter below the Azot complex, Russian and Ukrainian forces battled for control of the city above ground.