The number of wounded as a result of an air strike on the Azovstal field hospital has increased from 170 people to more than 600 people, Mayor of Mariupol Vadym Boichenko has said.

At a briefing at the Ukraine media center, he said that since the start of the full-scale offensive of the Russian invaders in Mariupol, more than 20,000 residents have died.

According to Boichenko, the civilians who are hiding at Azovstal plant have almost no water, food or medicine left. "Locals who managed to leave Mariupol say that it is hell in the city. And it is even worse in Azov. There is practically no food, water, medicines. And people are begging for salvation. Time passes not for days, but for hours," the mayor said.

According to him, about 300 residents of the city first hid in the Azovstal bomb shelters, but then they were joined by refugees from the left-bank part of the city, which suffered the most damage due to Russian bombing. How many civilians are now at the plant, it is not known exactly.

"There are many women, children, elderly people waiting to be evacuated. We ask all international communities to make efforts. And we hope that the procedures and negotiations that are ongoing will yield results and people will be saved," Boichenko said.