Mariupol Mayor "Civilian Death Toll Exceeds 5,000"

Published 07 Apr.2022 09:48(KST)

Zelensky: "The World Will See What Is Happening There"

An apartment complex in Mariupol, a southern port city of Ukraine, was left with its walls damaged and blackened due to indiscriminate attacks by Russian forces on the 3rd (local time). The playground, deserted as all residents and children fled, is cluttered with playground equipment and fallen trees tangled messily.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Jeong-wan] Ukrainian authorities have announced that the number of civilian deaths in Mariupol, a southern Ukrainian port city surrounded by Russian forces, has exceeded 5,000.

According to the Associated Press on the 6th (local time), Vadym Boychenko, mayor of Mariupol, stated that over 5,000 civilians have died in recent weeks due to Russian shelling and urban warfare, including 210 children.

Mayor Boychenko said that 50 people died in a single location after Russian forces shelled a hospital, and more than 90% of the city's infrastructure has been destroyed.

Mariupol is a strategic point connecting Donbas, the pro-Russian rebel-held area in eastern Ukraine, and Crimea, which Russia annexed by force. Russian forces have been conducting concentrated shelling and airstrikes for over a month.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that Russia is blocking humanitarian access to Mariupol to conceal the massacre.

According to AFP, in an interview with Turkey's Haberturk TV on the same day, President Zelensky pointed out, "The reason we cannot deliver humanitarian cargo to Mariupol is because Russia fears the world will see what is happening there."

He described the place as "a tragic site and hell," adding, "I know that not dozens but thousands have died and thousands have been injured."

He further stated, "They cannot hide all of this and bury all Ukrainian casualties."

President Zelensky also said that Russia is already trying to cover up evidence of crimes in various places, including Bucha, a city on the outskirts of Kyiv.

He said, "They burned families, and yesterday we discovered a new family consisting of a father, mother, two children, and a small child," adding, "This is why I called them Nazis."