Russian and Ukrainian forces fought for the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Sunday, where residents are trapped with little food, water and power, while Ukraine’s president appealed to Israel for help in pushing back Russia’s assault.
In the capital, Kyiv, shellfire hit several homes and a shopping centre in the Podil district late on Sunday, killing at least one person, the city’s mayor said.
In his latest appeal for help from abroad, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed the Israeli parliament by video link and questioned Israel’s reluctance to sell its Iron Dome missile defence system to Ukraine.
“Everybody knows that your missile defence systems are the best… and that you can definitely help our people, save the lives of Ukrainians, of Ukrainian Jews,” said Zelenskiy, who is of Jewish heritage.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has held numerous calls with both Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to end the conflict.
Mariupol has suffered some of the heaviest bombardments since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Many of its 400,000 residents remain trapped with little if any food, water and power.
Burying his neighbours in a makeshift grave by the roadside, a man who identified himself as Andrei said they had died not by shelling but of ailments, stress and cold after weeks without access to medical help.