The embattled Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Kherson will be gripped by a “total humanitarian crisis” and hospitals could struggle to provide basic medical care within days unless a demilitarised corridor for essential supplies is established, the government minister co-ordinating the aid effort has warned.

Oleksii Iaremenko, Ukraine’s deputy health minister, told the FT the government had asked the Red Cross to urgently organise a “humanitarian corridor” to ease the flow of aid and medical supplies within Ukraine but it had proved “almost impossible” to get Russia to agree.

“The problem is growing and growing and it’s only been a week,” he said, referring to the shortage of medical supplies. “In Kharkiv, we have quite big medical infrastructure and we have enough hospitals but bombs are falling and patients are coming too fast.”