Mariupol family makes desperate plea for help in message to teen daughter in Israel

The mother of a 14-year-old girl who came to Israel in September has managed to get a message out saying she and her family are unable to leave their home in the besieged city of Mariupol and their food will run out in two days, making a desperate plea for help.

Mariupol, under siege for 13 days now, has sustained heavy Russian bombing and the population has no electricity, food, water, or communications. Repeated evacuation efforts have been stymied by Russian shelling.

On Tuesday, the Times of Israel reported that Vika Korotkova, who has been sheltering with her husband and younger daughter Sofia in Mariupol, managed to get a message out to her daughter Ksiusha in Jerusalem that the family was still alive.

Ksiusha, 14, came to Israel in September with the Jewish Agency’s Naaleh program for high school students from the former Soviet Union and elsewhere.

That first message was relayed to Christians for Israel, a Netherlands-based organization devoted to bringing Jews to Israel that also operates in Ukraine. It was Christians for Israel that had sponsored Ksiusha’s flight to Israel.

The latest message was delivered directly to Ksiusha and then, via one of her teachers, to Christians for Israel.

Mariupol officials said Friday that 1,582 people had been killed since the siege began.

Ukrainian authorities have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in the port city.

Agencies contributed to this report.