The United Nations warns Ukraine is facing a growing humanitarian crisis, with reports that tens of thousands of Ukrainians are without food, water and heat during the Russian military’s deadly assault on the country.
The big picture: Over 2 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the Putin-ordered invasion began nearly two weeks ago. Many more remain trapped in the country. Ukrainian officials reported Russian forces have been “shelling the humanitarian corridor from Zaporizhzhia to Mariupol,” despite the Kremlin’s pledges of holding fire to allow civilians to leave.
Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free
Firefighters try to extinguish a blaze after a chemical warehouse was hit by Russian shelling near the town of Kalynivka, southwest of Kyiv, on March 8, 2022. Photo: Chris McGrath/Getty Images
A man walks between houses destroyed during air strikes on the central Ukranian city of Bila Tserkva on March 8. Photo: Aris Messinislvi/AFP via Getty Images
Evacuees from eastern Ukraine wait for a train at the railway station in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on March 8. Photo: Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP via Getty Images
A man injured during a Russian military attack receives treatment in the central hospital of Mykolaiv, some 60 miles from Odessa, western Ukraine, on March 8. Photo: Bulent Kilic/AFP via Getty Images
An elderly woman is assisted during Irpin evacuations on March 8. Photo: Andriy Dubchak/DIA Images via Getty Images
Volunteers sort through supplies from aid donations in Dnipro, central Ukraine, as Russian military attacks continue. Photo: Andrea Carrubba/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A damaged civil settlement after a shelling in the pro-Russian separatists-controlled Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on March 8. Photo: Leon Klein/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A woman and her dog sitting on a makeshift bed in a underground metro station used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv on March 8. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff/STF/AFP via Getty Images
A woman carries her dog during Irpin evacuations on March 8. Photo: Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images
Volunteers filling the bags with sand on local beaches for the protection of civilian and military facilities in Odessa, southern Ukraine, on March 8. Photo: Nina Liashonok/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Rozalia Choba, 98 who spent 10 years in Siberia as a political prisoner, with an old photo of herself, in her home in the village of Solonka, near Lviv, western Ukraine, on March 8. “If the Russian tank comes I would tell him ‘Go to your homeland, I’ll give you more bread on the way, just go back,” she told AFP. Photo: Clara Marchaud/AFP via Getty Images
Ukrainians are assisted during Irpin evacuations. Photo: Andriy Dubchak/dia images via Getty Images
People heading to a Kyiv train station to flee the city after Russia announced a temporary ceasefire on March 08. Photo: Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Buses preparing to leave Zaporizhzhya, southeastern Ukraine, for Mariupol to deliver humanitarian aid and evacuate people on March 6, after Russian officials said they’d open a humanitarian corridor. The International Committee of the Red Cross said later this attempt failed, citing concerns about the ceasefire agreement. Photo: Dmytro Smolyenko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Go deeper: The latest on the Russia-Ukraine crisis
Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.