'Medical Collapse' In Mariupol; Russia Forces Retired Health Staff Over 80 To Return To Work

The scorched city of Mariupol is facing a "medical collapse" as there is an acute shortage of medicines and health workers, said the advisor to the city's mayor, Petro Andriushchenko. The official added that workers are pulling out hundreds of bodies every day from the rubble in an "endless caravan of death."

Andriushchenko took to the social messaging app Telegram to add that the occupiers are desperately "persuading" medical professionals even over the age of 80 to return to work.

"Despite the beautiful pictures from the propagandists, there is a catastrophic shortage of doctors in the city. They have already begun "persuading" retirees of 80+ to return to work. We are talking about ordinary therapists, not to mention the lack of specialized professionals," Andriushchenko was quoted by Ukrainska Pravda.

The advisor has also published a list of 17 doctors from Mariupol Hospital No.3, who are forced to serve the Central and Primorskyi districts where over 70,000 people live.

He also rubbished claims that the city is not threatened by an epidemic outbreak. "In this state of affairs, any infectious disease turns into a deadly epidemic," Andriushchenko added. The residents of Mariupol have also been instructed by the Russians to either "wait" or move to occupied Donetsk by themselves to avail of medical facilities.

Andriushchenko's statement comes as Mariupol faces the threat of a Cholera outbreak. According to Ihor Kuzin, Chief State Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine, the situation in Mariupol requires particularly urgent attention due to the widespread mass graves and lack of access to clean drinking water.

"We frequently receive information about burial sites found in inappropriate locations, which can lead to water contamination. For this reason, people who live in such places have to be particularly careful when using water from wells and water mains; such water must undergo thermal treatment," Kuzin told Ukrainska Pravda.

The situation will get worse as the temperature rises as warm weather can facilitate the spread of infectious diseases.

Meanwhile, Russia has informed that the demining of Mariupol port is complete and is ready to resume grain shipments. "The de-mining of Mariupol's port has been completed. It is functioning normally, and has received its first cargo ships," Sergei Shoigu said in televised comments.