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Russia is withdrawing around Kyiv and converging its resources in eastern Ukraine. And once again Mariupol is in Russian crosshairs. 

The besieged southeastern city has been decimated by weeks of bombardment. And is the most damaged population center in the Ukraine-Russia war.

Mariupol is the port city on the Sea of Azov. It is within the Donbas region where mostly Russian is spoken. And Putin has long claimed that is loyal to Moscow. Kremlin-backed separatists have fought Ukrainian troops in the area for eight years.

The city has been surrounded since the start of the war. And for four weeks it received some of the most devastating attacks from Russian forces.

The city had a prewar population of over 430,000. Many have fled to find safety. And it is estimated that nearly 5,000 people have been killed by the constant barrage of bombs.

A maternity hospital and a theater being used as a bomb shelter were both hit. Only 100,000 people are believed to remain in the city. And they face extreme hardship with shortages of water, food, medicines, and food.

Red Cross blocked from Mariupol by Russian forces

The International Committee of the Red Cross attempted to evacuate Mariupol residents for over a week. But, as of Saturday they were still being blocked on the road to the city by the Russian military.

The Mariupol city council claimed early Saturday that 10 empty buses were headed to Berdyansk. Berdyansk is 84 kilometers (52.2 miles) west of Mariupol. 

The buses will pick up some of the evacuees who made it out of the embattled city in buses or their own vehicles. It is estimated that about 2,750 people left the bombed-out city in the last few days. 

Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, claims that 765 Mariupol residents arrived in Zaporizhzhia, on Saturday. Zaporizhzhia is 141 miles north of and is being used as an evacuation point.

About 500 refugees from throughout eastern Ukraine, including 99 children and 12 people with disabilities, arrived in the Russian city of Kazan. They came in an overnight train. 

One of the refugees from Mariupol Artur Kirillov said that he doubted he would ever go home again. “That’s unlikely, there is no city anymore.”

With the evacuation of at least 4 million refugees the humanitarian crisis continues.

Military analysts believe that Putin is determined to capture the region after his forces failed to secure the capital city of Kyiv. 

 It is uncertain how many Kremlin-backed separatists have been freed by Russia’s “special operations” and how many of them have died at the hands of the Russians.