People returning to Mariupol as Russians close humanitarian corridors

"Due to the closure of humanitarian corridors, many people, who were waiting for evacuation on the outskirts of the city, began to return to Mariupol," Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova posted on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

Denisova noted that the city is under threat of massive epidemic. According to her, an infectious catastrophe in the blocked Mariupol may occur due to lack of water, damaged sewage systems, and a large number of bodies under the rubble of houses.

"According to local authorities, about 10,000 people may die in the city by the end of the year because of epidemic alone," she stressed.

The Commissioner underscored that according to the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring and maintaining public health and hygiene in the occupied territory, taking measures necessary to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics.

Denisova calls on the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine to take into account these facts of human rights violations in Ukraine.

On February 24, Russian president Putin announced the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops shell and destroy key infrastructure facilities, massively fire on of residential areas of Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages using artillery, MLRS, and ballistic missiles.

The invaders pursue mass terror in the temporarily occupied territories.