Ukraine president says child died from dehydration in besieged Mariupol

[March 08, 2022]  LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday a child had died from dehydration in Ukraine's besieged city of Mariupol, which has had no water, power or heating supplies for days. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a video address in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 6, 2022 in this still image taken from video. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

"In 2022, from dehydration," Zelenskiy said in a video address, likening the humanitarian crisis linked to Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities to that created by the Nazi invasion during World War Two.

The child's death could not immediately be confirmed independently. Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation" to disarm its neighbour and arrest leaders it calls "neo-Nazis". It denies targeting civilians.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Writing by Alessandra Prentice, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

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