Russia's destruction of Ukraine's Mariupol from above - in pictures

Civilian infrastructure is ruined, as aid agencies say more than 400,000 people are trapped in the city with no water or power supply

A satellite image shows homes and buildings in Mariupol, Ukraine, in February, before Russia's invasion. Maxar Technologies via Reuters

A satellite image shows destroyed homes and buildings in Mariupol on March 9. Maxar Technologies via Reuters

Grocery stores and shopping malls in Mariupol in February before Russia's invasion. Maxar Technologies via Reuters

A satellite image shows destroyed grocery stores and shopping malls in Mariupol on March 9 amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Maxar Technologies via Reuters

The Portcity shopping mall and other stores in Mariupol in February before the Russian invasion. Maxar Technologies via AP

The heavily damaged Portcity shopping mall and other stores in Mariupol on March 9. Maxar Technologies via AP

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Ukraine's port city of Mariupol has suffered at least eight major air strikes in the past 48 hours, with a children’s hospital and the central fire department among the buildings hit.

Satellite imaging company Maxar Technologies has captured the chaos from above since Russia invaded on February 24.

Russian strikes have rained down on the besieged city, and shelling hasn't just destroyed government buildings.

One of the satellite images shows a large residential area levelled, in stark contrast to a photograph taken just before the invasion in February. Many of the buildings in the photo appear to have had their roofs destroyed, revealing the interiors.

Mariupol's residential areas hit

Aid agencies say more than 400,000 people are trapped in the city, which has no water or power supply. Food stocks are also running low as Ukraine and Russian continue to negotiate humanitarian corridors out of Mariupol and other cities.

More than 35,000 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities on Wednesday, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country is planning seven corridors.

But Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said no one had been able to leave Mariupol on Thursday.

Attempts to send aid and evacuation convoys have failed for six days.

Russian war planes were targeting convoy routes on Thursday, said Petro Andrushenko, an adviser to Mariupol's mayor.

“Air strikes started from the early morning. Air strike after air strike. All the historic centre is under bombardment,” he told Reuters by phone.

“They want to absolutely delete our city, delete our people. They want to stop any evacuation.”

Civilian infrastructure destroyed

Food supplies have been further hit by the destruction of shops. In a photo from June 2021, cars can be seen parked outside this Mariupol shopping mall, surrounded by lush greenery. By March 4, the store and countryside around it had been blackened and destroyed by Russian strikes.

The Mariupol Mall, where 250 shops covered 52,000 square metres, used to welcome almost five million shoppers every year. But in photos released on Wednesday by Maxar, the complex is shown to be destroyed.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he was deeply upset by images showing the use of “lethal weapons … in an indiscriminate manner in the city centre”.

“Nothing justifies” what happened in Mariupol, he added.

Russia says its offensive is aimed at disarming its neighbour and dislodging leaders it calls neo-Nazis. Kyiv and its Western allies say this is a baseless pretext to invade a democratic country of 44 million people.

The images were taken hours before Russian strikes hit a maternity hospital in the centre of the city.

The children's and maternity hospital in Mariupol was attacked on Wednesday in what Mr Zelenskyy described as a Russian “war crime”, and which sparked global outrage.

Local officials said Thursday that at least three people were killed in the attack, including a young girl.

Russia's Defence Ministry later denied having bombed the hospital, accusing Ukraine of a “staged provocation” there.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Thursday condemned Russia's bombing of a maternity hospital in Ukraine's Mariupol and demanded Moscow allow aid into the besieged city.

“Russia's shelling of maternity hospital is a heinous war crime. Strikes of residential areas from the air and blocks of access of aid convoys by the Russian forces must immediately stop. Safe passage is needed, now,” Mr Borrell wrote in a tweet.

Russia-Ukraine war - in pictures

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows destroyed and burning warehouse buildings in Stoyanka, Ukraine, in the western Kyiv region, during the Russian invasion. AP

Children shelter in a metro station in Kharkiv. Moscow said on March 10, 2022, that it will open daily humanitarian corridors to allow civilians fleeing fighting in Ukraine to reach Russian territory, despite Kyiv insisting that no evacuation routes should lead to Russia. AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin during a videoconference meeting with government members at the Kremlin in Moscow. The meeting focuses on minimising the effects of sanctions on the Russian economy. Russian troops entered Ukraine on February 24, prompting the country's president to declare martial law and triggering a series of severe economic sanctions imposed by western countries. EPA

Rescuers work among remains of buildings damaged by an air strike in Dnipro, Ukraine, as Russia's attack on the country continues. Reuters

Members of the National Guard of Ukraine, Oleksandr and Olena, listen to a priest at their wedding in Ukraine. Reuters

People fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine warm up by a fire near the train station in Lviv, Ukraine. Reuters

Russian forces rolled their armoured vehicles up to the northeastern edge of Kyiv, edging closer in their attempts to encircle the Ukrainian capital. AFP

A woman covers herself with a blanket near a damaged fire truck after shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine. AP Photo

A Ukrainian soldier hides from a helicopter air strike near Demydiv, Ukraine. Reuters

Ukrainian soldiers walk past a monument of the city founder Duke de Richelieu, covered with sand bags for protection, in Odessa, Ukraine. Reuters

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, centre, and Ukranian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. EPA

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in talks with Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba during a tripartite meeting chaired by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, in Antalya, Turkey. AP

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova speaks to the media as the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia and Turkey hold talks in Antalya, 15 days after Russia launched a military invasion on Ukraine. AFP

A Ukrainian serviceman says goodbye to his girlfriend before departing in the direction of Kyiv at the central train station in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. AFP

Valerii Sushkevych, president of the Ukraine National Paralympic Committee, and the Ukraine delegation raise their fists and pose with a banner at the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games. Reuters

A member of the Ukrainian team cries during a moment of silence at the Zhangjiakou athletes village during the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games. AFP

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, right, and Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kubela, second left, in Antalya, Turkey. AFP

A man is supported after crossing the Irpin river while fleeing the town of Irpin, Ukraine. AP

People are helped out of a damaged children's hospital following a Russian air strike in the southeastern city of Mariupol, Ukraine. AFP

A man rides a bicycle in front of an apartment building that was damaged by shelling in Mariupol. AP

A woman carries two babies after arriving at a triage point in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

A man hugs an elderly woman after crossing a damaged bridge as they flee from the frontline town of Irpin, near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. EPA

Local residents cook at a makeshift camp next to a checkpoint in Kyiv. EPA

Ukrainian men chop wood at a makeshift camp next to a checkpoint in Kyiv. EPA

A member of the Territorial Defence Forces learns how to use a Javelin missile during a training session in Kyiv. EPA

Members of the Territorial Defence Forces learn how to give first aid during the training session. EPA

A woman rescued from the outskirts of Kyiv holds a plate of food after arriving at a triage point in the Ukrainian capital. AP

A woman cries after arriving at the triage point in Kyiv. AP

Civilian vehicles drive past a destroyed Russian tank as they leave Irpin. AP

Ukrainian servicemen stand in a foxhole in Irpin. AP

People gather on a platform to board a train leaving Odesa after the US said Russian troops are making preparations to attack the city. AFP

A Ukrainian woman looks for food in a bin in Odesa's city centre. AFP

Ukrainian servicemen look towards Russian positions outside the city of Brovary, east of Kyiv. AFP

A man walks past a shelled house at the village of Velyka Dymerka, east of Kyiv. AFP

A Ukrainian serviceman stands at a check point in the vilage of Velyka Dymerka east of Kyiv. AFP

A Ukrainian woman plays with her child in a temporary refugee shelter in Przemysl, Poland. Reuters

A woman waits outside a maternity and children's hospital damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine. AP

A pregnant woman leaves the hospital after she was wounded when it was bombed. AP

A woman waits outside the damaged hospital in Mariupol. AP

A man wounded by shelling in Mariupol. AP

A car burns after the destruction of the children's hospital in Mariupol. Reuters

A mortuary worker wheels a stretcher used to move dead bodies before they are buried on the outskirts of Mariupol. AP