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Mariana and Yuri with their daughter Veronika.
Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka / AP
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At the same time as new life is being born, there are constantly new reports about the very difficult situation in Mariupol.
Mariupol has been under siege and bombing for more than a week now, and is surrounded by Russian troops.
– Desperate situation
The port city of Ukraine in particular has major problems with the supply of water, electricity and gas – and there is almost no coverage for telephone and internet.
Now Doctors Without Borders is going out and sounding the alarm about the situation in Mariupol and other war-torn areas in the country.
– The situation is desperate, says Stephen Cornish, who is leading the organization’s efforts in Ukraine.
Regional authorities report that over 1200 people have been killed in Mariupol alone, the numbers are probably much higher.
“Sieges are a medieval practice that has been banned by modern war rules for good reason,” says Cornish.
Expect very cold weather
In the coming days, temperatures are expected to drop to minus 20 in Eastern Europe. This is of particular concern to children fleeing the war in Ukraine.
– Children who have been forced to flee their homes are now experiencing brutal cold, strong winds and snow. At night, they seek refuge wherever they can, and they are exposed to very difficult weather conditions.
This is what Save the Children’s director in Eastern Europe, Irina Saghoyan, says in a press release.
According to the organization, more than 1 million children have fled Ukraine, and several million are fleeing internally in the country.
Newborns and young children are particularly prone to severe colds and hypothermia, says Saghoyan.