KYIV:A total of 1,207 civilians have died during a nine-day siege by Russian forces of Ukraine's port city of Mariupol, its mayor said Wednesday.

The first nine days of the Russian siege saw "1,207 peaceful Mariupol residents dying", the city authorities posted on Telegram along with a video message by Mayor Vadym Boichenko, after a Russian air strike destroyed a children's hospital in the city earlier in the day.