Ukraine war: Devastating siege of Mariupol continues as humanitarian crisis worsens

After twelve days of siege, the strategic southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol is without water, gas, electricity or communications, and people were seen fighting for food in recent days. The situation is "almost desperate", warned Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

1,582 civilians were killed in Mariupol during the siege, some of which had to be buried in mass graves, the Ukrainian authorities said.

Meanwhile, the Russian troops are attempting to further encircle Kyiv, fighting against heavy resistance in the west and the north of the city.

Local media reported bombing warning sirens throughout Ukraine on Saturday morning, including the major cities of Kyiv, Odessa, Dnipro and Kharkiv.

Saturday's main developments:

Russia damaged a cancer hospital and several residential buildings in the southern city of Mykolaiv with shelling from heavy artillery, Ukrainian officials said.

The hospital’s head doctor, Maksim Beznosenko, said several hundred patients were in the hospital during the attack but that no one was killed. The assault damaged the building and blew out windows.

Russian forces have stepped up their attacks on Mykolaiv, located 470 kilometres south of Kyiv, in an attempt to encircle the city.

Ukrainian and Western officials earlier accused Russia of shelling a maternity hospital in the southern city of Mariupol on Wednesday. Three people died in that attack.

Russia’s space agency has sent NASA and other international partners a letter demanding an end to sanctions, saying they could threaten the International Space Station.

In a tweet on Saturday, the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, said the letter appealed to the space agencies of Europe, the US, and Canada to keep the space station