“Hundreds of bodies were lying on the street,” wrote a woman named Olena from the city on the Azov Sea to the German Press Agency via a messenger service. Because of the many fatalities, a pit was dug in a district. Both civilians and military personnel were buried in the mass grave, Olena reported.
“The city of Mariupol no longer exists.” At her house, a garage was hit by a rocket. “I don’t have a house anymore,” reported Olena. She spent a total of 20 days in a basement seeking shelter from the attacks – without drinking water. During this time, she only survived thanks to rainwater, melted snow and heating water, Olena wrote. A few days ago, with the help of a neighbor, she managed to escape to the nearby village of Volodarske. She kept a diary in Mariupol every day “so as not to go crazy”.
Exactly a month ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on neighboring Ukraine. There has been heavy fighting around the port city of Mariupol for weeks. According to local authorities, more than 3,000 people have been killed.
The city council accuses Russian troops of bringing thousands of residents to Russia against their will. They would first come to camps and from there would be distributed to Russian cities. Passports and other Ukrainian documents would be taken from them. There is no independent confirmation of this.
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More airstrikes
According to the Ukrainian military, Russia has stepped up its airstrikes. According to the morning report of the Ukrainian general staff on Thursday, more than 250 operations were registered within 24 hours. The day before there were 60 fewer. However, Russian troops have been prevented from advancing near the capital Kyiv. According to their own statements, Russian troops took the besieged city of Isjum in the morning. Meanwhile, seven escape corridors have been agreed.
Video: Christian Wehrschütz and Ernst Gelegs report on the latest developments in the war in Ukraine.
The main targets of the airstrikes continue to be military and civil infrastructure facilities in the Kyiv, Chernihiv and Kharkiv regions. Moscow, on the other hand, claims to only attack military targets. In the areas occupied by Russian troops, Russia is “terrorizing” local residents who are demonstrating against the occupation, it said. Russian National Guard units are deployed to quell such protests. The information cannot be independently verified.
Since the invasion of Russian troops in the Ukraine A month ago, 294 civilians were killed in fighting around the city of Kharkiv in the north-east of the country, according to local police. Among them are 15 children, officials in the country’s second largest city said on Telegram.
Source: Nachrichten
