Currently, there are several rings of siege in Mariupol, and the forces of the enemy are six times more numerous than the ones of Ukrainian defenders.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about this in an interview with Ukrainian online media.
According to the President, the situation in the city has not been improving. But plans are being developed, and negotiations are underway to resolve the issue.
"Our military is blocked, the wounded people are blocked, and there are many of them, there are people killed, unfortunately. There is a humanitarian crisis - there is not enough food, water, no medicine. However, our guys are heroically holding defense. We are grateful to them. To be honest, there is no trust in the russian negotiators on Mariupol. We agreed to have a humanitarian corridor, and President Erdogan personally acted as a mediator. We agreed that we could evacuate the wounded, killed, and civilians, especially women and children, through Berdyansk. There are little children. At some point, russia refused [to provide a corridor]. Therefore, there is no trust in them," the President said.
According to Zelenskyy, communication with the military stationed at Azovstal is constantly maintained at various levels.
"They know that they have one of the most powerful and important missions today. The enemy is so afraid of them that the Russian military is six times more than ours. And their equipment outnumbers by dozens of times. There are several rings blocking Mariupol," the President said.
He also noted a problem with people missing or those left to russia, because the Ukrainian side cannot control these processes.
"What can save Mariupol? A powerful weapon [can], which should be provided as soon as possible. The second [channel] is negotiations," the President said.
According to him, Russia offers our military to surrender. "They treat our military there in a special way. And you know it very well. And there are combatants, whom they hate, and they will unlikely save their lives," the President concluded.