Getting civilians out of 'places of hell' in Ukraine top priority: UN official

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) - The UN's top priority remains civilians' safe evacuation from "encircled places of hell" in Ukraine, such as Mariupol, where they are trapped, a senior UN official said on Friday.

In an ongoing visit to Ukraine, UN Humanitarian Affairs chief Martin Griffiths was in the capital Kyiv on Thursday, where he met Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and other officials, said Jens Laerke, Geneva spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

"Griffiths witnessed first-hand the scenes of death and destruction in the nearby towns of Bucha and Irpin in the Kyiv district, following the withdrawal of Russian forces from the area," Laerke said at a UN press conference.

He said that last night, Griffiths said his first humanitarian concern was the need for the safe passage and evacuation of civilians from encircled "places of hell," Mariupol being the worst.

For weeks, the International Red Cross has tried to the rescue of many thousands of people trapped in the southern port city.

Russia has bombarded Mariupol from the air and ground since it invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. It is now encircled, and while tens of thousands have fled, many still remain.

An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team had led a convoy of buses and private cars carrying more than 1,000 people to the city of Zaporizhzhia after the civilians fled besieged Mariupol on their own, the ICRC said on Wednesday.

- Mariupol not reached

Due to the actions of Russian forces, the ICRC has been unable to reach Mariupol and rescue civilians subjected to constant bombardment.

Laerke said Griffiths had also warned that Luhansk and Donetsk, separatist areas that Russia says are independent, "are going to be a very high humanitarian concern."

He said Griffiths had urged Russia and Ukraine to "ensure safe passage" for civilians out of those areas, where Russian-backed forces have waged war since 2014.

"Within six weeks, UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs have dramatically scaled up operations, and some 160 partners are now present in all Ukraine's 24 oblasts," said Laerke.

That compares with six weeks ago when operations were limited to Ukraine's two eastern oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk.

"The war in Ukraine has triggered one of the fastest-growing displacement and humanitarian crises ever," UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh said at the UN press conference.

"Within six weeks, more than 4.3 million refugees have fled the country, while a further 7.1 million are displaced internally."

He said that delivering aid remains challenging in the parts of the country where there is active fighting.

"We continue striving to reach hard-hit areas such as Mariupol and Kherson with life-saving assistance," said Saltmarsh.

On Wednesday, he said one aid convoy had managed to reach Sievierodonetsk in Luhansk, eastern Ukraine.

"For weeks, people there have endured relentless shelling and shortages of basics like water, gas, and electricity. Our team was able to deliver solar lamps, blankets, hygiene kits, baby formula, and tarpaulin sheets to 3,000 people," said Saltmarsh.