Petro Andryushchenko, Advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol, said that the clashes in the city, which has been under siege for 12 days, are moving towards the mosque and added:
“Russia is not paying attention to our government’s messages, so we hope the Turkish government will contact Russia and get them to stop.
We are ready to evacuate Turkish citizens, but for this to happen, the attack must stop. For this, Turkey needs to help us, I do not believe that the attacks will stop without the intervention of the Turkish government.”
According to the Russian Tass news agency, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the Ukrainian authorities did not allow the exit of civilians in the city and the entry of aid convoys.
According to Reuters, electricity and water have been cut off in the city for more than a week. In addition, AFP explains that natural gas is also cut off, and telephone and internet infrastructures rarely work.
The city council announced that 1,582 people lost their lives in 12 days.
Speaking to AFP before the siege, the imam of the mosque, Mehmet Uce, said that the mosque building was solid and that they stocked food in the basement.
On the other hand, the agency states that two buses sent to evacuate the Turks have been waiting since last week, and attempts to create a humanitarian corridor have failed.
İsmail Hacıoğlu, whose children, wife and four relatives are at the mosque, told AFP that the explosions are approaching the mosque and they fear that the mosque will be targeted.
According to Reuters, Vadim Denisenko, Advisor to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, said that the situation in the city is critical.
There is also a Turkish-Islamic Cultural Center inside the mosque, which was built by Salih Cihan in 2005 in memory of Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Hürrem Sultan.