Russian troops hauled the bodies of victims of the Mariupol theater attack “into the trash heap,” Deputy Mayor Sergei Orlov said, reflecting on life in the occupied Ukrainian city a year after the first attack.
About 600 people were reportedly killed when the Russians attacked the 60-year-old stone theater on March 16, when it was protecting about 1,200 civilians.
Speaking of how the Russians began demolishing the theater in December, Mr. Orlov accused Moscow of calling emergency services directly from Russia to cover up alleged war crimes.
“They did their cruel and dirty work and returned to Russia,” Orlov said. I“Other residents were not informed in advance.
He said they used heavy equipment and excavators, and “with all the garbage, the bodies were taken to the dump.”
Russia took control of Mariupol, a strategic Black Sea port, last May when militants at the Azovstal steel plant were forced to surrender after three months of one of the worst sieges since World War II.
The vice-mayor said that the death toll during the siege of Mariupol ranged from 22,000 to 70,000 people.
The battle for Mariupol, which began on February 24 last year as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine, has wreaked havoc in nearly every part of the city, home to half a million war-affected residents. . up to about 150,000.
The three-month siege damaged up to 90 percent of the infrastructure, including 24,926 private houses and 1,207 tenements, with city losses estimated at around £12 billion.
The Russians “continue to destroy, and the idea is that they cover up the crimes and all the atrocities,” Orlov said. “Among these damaged and destroyed houses, it is impossible to find dead people.”
“grave cemeteries”
After the capitulation of Mariupol, attempts were made to “Russify” it, ranging from sending “zombie cars” to Kremlin propaganda in Russian-language schools, and Mariupol is now in the Moscow time zone. reports AP.
Mr. Orlov said those leaving the city described “the absence of everything, the lack of economic activity, the lack of life and housing.”
Some have reported that “the only way to make some money is to dig graveyards…because they need a Russian passport for a lot of things.”
The vice-mayor said Russian documents are needed for more highly qualified positions, such as administration or teaching, as well as access to services such as pensions and medical care.
While there are a few supermarkets in Mariupol, they are small and prices are 50-70 percent higher than in the rest of Ukraine.
“If you look at the photos of Mariupol, you will see huge queues for ready-made food on the street,” Orlov said. “It’s terrible for people because they don’t want to stand in those lines… but they have to, like a lot of them, it’s the only way to get a hot meal.”
Mr. Orlov said Russian troops used to provide some food and hygiene kits, but that has almost completely stopped.
Some water pipes work, but not in every apartment. In addition, according to Mr. Orlov, the sewerage still does not work.
Heating is “very poor”, with only 30 to 50 percent of homes having central heating during Ukraine’s low winter temperatures. All the rest live in “frozen” apartments or with relatives in houses with heating. Some go to private homes where they can use charcoal, firewood or pellets.
Russia is the only choice
Travel from Mariupol to other Ukrainian-occupied territories is “categorically prohibited,” Mr. Orlov said, meaning residents who want to leave must travel through Russia and then through another country, such as Estonia or Lithuania, if they wish. or want to return to Ukraine. European Union.
“Russia doesn’t consider Ukraine a country… everything they do is genocide.”
Mr. Orlov said the Russians are insisting that the residents get Russian citizenship so that they can then say, “Look, there are no Ukrainians here, look, they are Russians here.”
“Their goal is to destroy Ukraine as a country and as a nation.”
However, Mr. Orlov is convinced that the occupation will not last forever.
“Personally, we are absolutely sure that Mariupol will be liberated and, in my personal opinion and understanding, this will happen by the end of this year.”
Source: I News
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