I just read this interview of @unian with Vadim Boychenko, the Mayor of Mariupol. Hopefully this will be translated to English.
The mayors says that according to the city’s estimates, about 20 to 30 thousand residents were forcibly deported to Russia. /1
unian.net/war/mer-mariup…
The mayors says that according to the city’s estimates, about 20 to 30 thousand residents were forcibly deported to Russia. /1
unian.net/war/mer-mariup…
The mayor tells UNIAN that the city remains surrounded since the fifth day of the war. “They used the fascist approach,” the mayor says and adds that the Russian forces deliberately besiege the city and target all of its critical infrastructure. /3
In the first days of the siege the Russians destroyed all power lines in the city. On the 7th day the city was left without electricity and heating. The Russians deliberately targeted the city’s water pumps. On the 9th, the water supply collapsed. After that gas was cut off. /4
Starting from the 5-6th day of the war, the Russians continuously fired from Grads, artillery, and rockets, the mayor says. But when they realized that it was impossible to break through the defenses of Mariupol the Russians used aircraft, especially from Crimea. /5
Mr. Boychenko emphasizes that the Russian objective is to wipe the city off the face of the earth along with its inhabitants.
He adds that that the official figure of dead stands at 2,187 but the real figure are much higher: “It's thousands of people”. /6
He adds that that the official figure of dead stands at 2,187 but the real figure are much higher: “It's thousands of people”. /6
According to him, 90% of Mariupol’s housing stock was damaged in one way or another. In total, there are 2600 houses, of which 60% have a direct hit by Grad, howitzer or rockets. 40% of these are permanently destroyed. He concludes: “Mariupol needs a complete evacuation.” /8
“The task was to wipe the city off the face of the earth along with all its inhabitants. This is genocide, there is no other way to call what is happening. This is Putin's war crime, which is being committed by the Russian armed forces,” the mayor says. /9
He goes on to say that elite units of the Russian Federation were sent to storm the city and entered deeper into the center on the 30th day of the war but the mayor maintains that the city still is under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. /10
Mr. Boychenko also said that 50% of the city's 540,000 residents were evacuated.
About 60,000 had left through humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian-controlled territory in the last days and another 20,000-30,000 had been forced to leave to Russia. /11
About 60,000 had left through humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian-controlled territory in the last days and another 20,000-30,000 had been forced to leave to Russia. /11
The mayor describes how he got a call from his neighbor who was forcibly taken out. He went for water, and they abducted him.
Now the neighbor is in the occupied Novoazovsk, where Ukrainians are being taken to Russia- even to far away places like Tomsk. /12
Now the neighbor is in the occupied Novoazovsk, where Ukrainians are being taken to Russia- even to far away places like Tomsk. /12
The Minister for the occupied territories Veryshchuk recently said that 14 mayors are in captivity and the SBU told mayor Boychenko that he is a Russian target and that is why the mayor is in hiding. /end
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