Red Cross chief: Ukraine war ‘nothing short of a nightmare’

Mariana Vishegirskaya stands outside a maternity hospital that was damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine (Mstyslav Chernov/AP)

The ongoing Russian war in Ukraine has become “nothing short of a nightmare” for those living in besieged cities, a top Red Cross official said as he called for safe passage out for civilians and humanitarian aid to be allowed through the front lines.

Robert Mardini, the director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, also called the war “catastrophic” for civilians affected by the fighting as people run out of drinking water, food, medical supplies and fuel for heating – particularly in the surrounded Ukrainian city of Mariupol.