Mosque in Mariupol city, housing 80 people, bombed by Russia: Ukraine minister

A mosque in Ukraine’s Mariupol – which was sheltering 80 civilians – has been bombed by Russian forces, Ukrainian officials said Saturday.

The war-torn eastern European country’s foreign ministry tweeted ‘the mosque of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Roxolana (Hurrem Sultan) in Mariupol was shelled by Russian invaders’. “More than 80 adults and children are hiding there from the shelling, including citizens of Turkey,” the tweet said.

Earlier today a spokesperson for the Ukrainian embassy in Turkey, citing information from the Mariupol mayor, said 86 Turkish nationals, including 34 children, were among those who had sought refuge in the mosque to escape Russian attacks on the besieged port city.

“There are really big communication problems in Mariupol and there’s no opportunity to reach them,” news agency AFP quoted her as saying at the time.

Turkish officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Friday that Turkey has evacuated nearly 14,000 of its citizens from Ukraine.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been trapped in Mariupol for over a week with no food, water or heat and amid freezing temperatures.

The Russian defence ministry was quoted by news agency Tass as saying the city was completely surrounded. An advisor to the Ukrainian interior ministry told AFP ‘the situation is critical’.

Ukrainian officials claim over 1,500 people have been killed there so far, and have repeatedly accused Russia of targeting civilian centres and populations. Among those killed this week were three people in a children’s hospital.

Efforts to establish ceasefires in Mariupol and other bombarded cities to let civilians and non-combatants leave have repeatedly broken down, with Ukraine accusing Russia of deliberately preventing them from fleeing.

Russia has firmly denied such charges.

Russia’s onslaught continues

Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine is now into its third week and shows no signs of stopping or even slowing down, despite a barrage of financial sanctions against key Russian lawmakers (including minister Sergei Lavrov), billionaires (including Premier League football club owner Roman Abramovich), the banking sector and key industries.

Russia has captured a major port city in Kherson (which gives it access to crucial Black Sea shipping routes), the derelict nuclear power plant of Chernobyl (which allows swift movement of troops into Ukraine via Belarus, an ally) and smaller towns, including Melitopol.

Russia has also taken the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which is among the world’s largest, raising fears about its intentions and the threat of a nuclear war.

Russian forces are also moving relentlessly on Ukraine capital Kyiv, with air raid sirens sounding in the city and neighbouring areas this morning.