By Humeyra Pamuk and Daphne Psaledakis
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Civilians stuck in areas of active hostilities in Ukraine should be allowed safe passage in any direction they choose, U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths told a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday.
“The parties must take constant care to spare civilians and civilian homes and infrastructure in their military operations,” Griffiths told the meeting called to address the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
“This includes allowing safe passage for civilians to leave areas of active hostilities on a voluntary basis, in the direction they choose,” he said.
Ukrainian cities under attack desperately needed aid and medical supplies, he said. These include Kharkiv, Mariupol and Melitopol.
Hundreds of thousands of people remain trapped without food and water under regular bombardments in the encircled southern port city of Mariupol.
More than 1.7 million people have fled Ukraine, many Western companies have pulled out and the West has imposed harsh sanctions on Russian banks and President Vladimir Putin.
“We need Russia’s firm, clear, public and unequivocal commitment to allow and facilitate immediate, unhindered humanitarian access for humanitarian partners in Ukraine,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.
Thomas-Greenfield said Ukrainian cities were under siege and under “relentless” Russian shelling, with hospitals running out of supplies, food dwindling and civilian casualties mounting.
Moscow, which denies targeting civilians, has vowed to press ahead with the campaign it launched on Feb. 24 and calls a “special military operation”.
France and Mexico last week worked on a resolution to the U.N. Security Council to address the humanitarian impact, but it was not due to be taken up during Monday’s meeting.
Russia’s growing reliance on longer-range strikes on Ukrainian targets is increasing the number of civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure, the Pentagon said on Monday.
(Additional reporting by Chris Gallagher, Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Barbara Lewis and Howard Goller)
