Mariupol, photo: getty images, BBC
It’s hard to talk about Mariupol right now for anyone from Ukraine. And if you take a look on photos and videos from Mariupol now – it will be hard for anyone even if you are not from it. Once one of industrial centers of Ukraine and important port city, now Mariupol is almost completely destroyed and surrounded by the russian* army.
“Shelled up to 100 times a day”.
According to Denis Prokopenko, commander of Azov Regiment, who are among Mariupol defenders, city is being shelled now up to 100 times daily.
“It is impossible to be a civilian here. People don’t have medicine, people on the streets faint from hunger because there is no food. People are in shelters where air bombs fall, burying people alive. These are children, elderly and many others.”
Denis Prokopenko, commander of Azov Regiment
In addition to it the russians* are throwing grenades at bomb shelters with civilians and it is very difficult to get people out of the rubble.
After the russian* blockade of Mariupol started, 150,000 people were evacuated, about 170,000 remain in the blocked city. It is also reported that people trying to leave Mariupol are often shelled. It feels like they have almost no chance of surviving, because staying in the city is also a risk, but another one – of being hit by air bombs.
Prokopenko also noted that since the beginning of the russia’s* full-scale invasion on February 24, no humanitarian convoy could reach Mariupol, as russia* is blocking everything – in order to hide atrocities russian* army commits in the city. He stressed, that Mariupol needs the help of international humanitarian missions that would help expose the war crimes of the russian* occupiers .
“Probably around 20,000 killed”
It is reported that 5,000 people were killed in Mariupol, according to preliminary estimates. But advisor to Mariupol Mayor Petro Andriushchenko says real number might be even higher: close to 20,000, as he said on March 15, reports Radio Liberty. “Due to the intensity of the shelling, people cannot even go outside to bury their loved ones,” – he added.
russian* filtration camps for Ukrainians and deportation to russia*
On March 24 Mariupol city council reported that russia* forcibly deports Ukrainians from Mariupol .deported already about 6,000 Mariupol residents to russia*.
Many Mariupol residents who were sent to russia* talk about filtration camps for civilians, where all Ukrainians deported from their homes are taken. As Mariupol city website 0629.com report, there is one russian* filtration camp for Ukraiians located in russia’* occupied Novoazovsk. There might be more, although so far there is no reported information about other camps yet.
As Kyrylo(name changed), prisoned Ukrainian, told 0629.com, russians* take away their passports and any documents and issue certificates from everyone who comes to Novoazovsk. In this certificate it is stated that person forced to come to a certain russian* city (now cities Tomsk, Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Voronezh are mostly named). People who received this certificate are obliged to go to work exactly where prescribed and have no right to leave this city for at least two years.
The very entry to filtration camp bears disturbing resemblance to those of Nazi Germany times at least in nature of intention behind it: as Kyrylo told, prisoned civilians are interrogated, their telephones, everything they have is cheched, they are being undressed and are checked (although Kyrylo said he wasn;t sure whether they do that to women too). He also mentioned that they might be looking for tatooes. “It seems they actually see nazis in everyone who left Mariupol”.
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One of the criminals of the “DPR” Eduard Basurin told kremlin propaganda media Ura.ru how filtration camps work. According to him, the camps operate in three stages. The first is a preliminary interview and check of basics, check of phones, contacts. The second stage is a survey by social workers, doctors and employees of the russian* ministry of internal affairs. At this stage lists of “unreliable people” are compiled. Basurin says that they have had such lists for a long time, but thanks to these “interviews”, they are expanding and supplementing the lists of unreliable ones. And already at the third stage, if a person has endured everything, he or she is sent into exile for two years.
It is important to understand that it is currently unknown what is happening to those who do not pass such an interview. There is no information from such people.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, 2,500 children have already been forcibly removed from Ukraine. The purpose of such criminal acts is currently unknown.
On February 24, russia* attacked Ukraine. We continue to follow the development of the situation. If you have information about russian* troops movement or any other information you want to share with us, email us via [email protected] or text in telegram on @JavelinSt. For particularly sensitive data – reach out, we will send more encrypted channels.
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*Note: we write “russia” and “russian” refering to country and soldiers taking part in atrocities against Ukraine. This not a mistake but on purpose. We feel that capital letters represent pride and respect, and with russia’s and its soldiers crimes against unarmed civilians, it feels they stripped themselves of both things.