Siege of Mariupol

Mariupol was considered a major strategic city and therefore was a target for Russian forces. It was the largest city in the Ukrainian-controlled portion of Donetsk Oblast,^[e][66] and was also one of the largest Russian-speaking cities in Ukraine.^[66] Mariupol was a major industrial hub, home of the Illich and Azovstal Iron and Steel Works, and the largest city on the Sea of Azov.^[67]

Control of its port on the western shore of the Sea of Azov is vital to the economy of Ukraine. For Russia, it would allow a land route to Crimea and allow passage by Russian marine traffic.^[68] Capturing the city gave Russia full control over the Sea of Azov.^[69]

In 2014 after the Revolution of Dignity, Mariupol was swept by pro-Russian protests against the new government. Tensions erupted into the war in Donbas in early May, and during the unrest, militiamen of the separatist and Russian-backed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) took control of the city and forced Ukrainian troops to abandon it during the first battle for Mariupol.^[70] However, the following month, Ukrainian forces recaptured the city in an offensive.^[71] In August, the DPR and Russian troops captured the village of Novoazovsk, 45 km east of Mariupol near the Russo-Ukrainian border.^[72] With the town captured and forces renewed, in September the DPR attempted to capture the city again in the second battle for Mariupol. Fighting reached the eastern outskirts, but the separatists were eventually repelled.^[73] In October, then-DPR Prime Minister Alexander Zakharchenko vowed to retake the city.^[74] Mariupol was then indiscriminately bombed by rockets in January 2015. Fearing a future third offensive into Mariupol, in February Ukrainian forces launched a surprise attack into Shyrokyne, a village located 11 km east of Mariupol with the objective of expelling the separatist forces from the city limits and creating a buffer zone.^[75][76] The separatists withdrew from Shyrokyne four months later.^[77] The conflict was frozen when the Minsk II ceasefire agreement was signed in 2015.^[78]

2018 saw again tension in the region around Mariupol, as the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) coast guard fired upon and captured three Ukrainian Navy vessels after they attempted to transit from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait on their way to the port of Mariupol. The Kerch Strait incident raised tensions, and martial law was briefly declared by Ukraine in fears that a war would break out between the two countries.^[79]

One of the most instrumental groups for the recapture and subsequent defenses of Mariupol was the Azov Battalion, a Ukrainian volunteer militia, controversial for its openly neo-Nazi and ultranationalist members.^[80][81][82] By November 2014 Azov was integrated into the National Guard of Ukraine, with Mariupol as its headquarters.^[83] As one of Vladimir Putin's stated goals for the invasion was the "denazification" of Ukraine, Mariupol represented an important ideological and symbolical target for the Russian forces.^[84][85]

Prior to the siege, around 100,000 residents left Mariupol, according to the city's deputy mayor.^[86]

Prior to falling to Russian forces, the city was defended by the Ukrainian Ground Forces, the Ukrainian Naval Infantry, the National Guard of Ukraine (primarily the Azov Regiment^[16]), the Territorial Defense Forces of Ukraine, and irregular forces.^[24]

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Battle of Mariupol (2014)

Battle of Mariupol (2014)

During the unrest in Ukraine in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, the city of Mariupol, in Donetsk Oblast, saw skirmishes break out between Ukrainian government forces, local police, and separatist militants affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic. Government forces withdrew from Mariupol on 9 May 2014 after heavy fighting left the city's police headquarters gutted by fire. These forces maintained checkpoints outside the city. Intervention by Metinvest steelworkers on 15 May 2014 led to the removal of barricades from the city centre, and the resumption of patrols by local police. Separatists continued to operate a headquarters in another part of the city until their positions were overrun in a government offensive on 13 June 2014.

Offensive on Mariupol (September 2014)

Offensive on Mariupol (September 2014)

In late August and early September 2014, Russian and russian-backed separatist troops supporting the Donetsk People's Republic advanced on the government-controlled port city of Mariupol in southern Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. This followed a wide offensive by Russian-allied forces, which led to their capture of Novoazovsk to the east. Fighting reached the outskirts of Mariupol on 6 September.

January 2015 Mariupol rocket attack

January 2015 Mariupol rocket attack

An attack on Mariupol was launched on 24 January 2015 by Russian and pro-Russian forces against the strategic maritime city of Mariupol, defended by Ukrainian government forces. Mariupol had come under attack multiple times in the previous year in the course of the War in Donbass, including in May–June 2014, when the city was under the control of Russian controlled forces; and in the September 2014 offensive.

Mariupol

Mariupol

Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Since May 2022, Mariupol has been occupied by Russian forces. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the country and the second-largest city in Donetsk Oblast, with an estimated population of 425,681 people in January 2022, however Ukrainian authorities estimate its current population to be approximately 100,000.

Donetsk Oblast

Donetsk Oblast

Donetsk Oblast, also referred to as Donechchyna (Донеччина), is an oblast in eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 million residents. Its administrative centre is Donetsk, though due to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War, the regional administration was moved to Kramatorsk. Historically, the region has been an important part of the Donbas region. From its creation in 1938 until November 1961, it bore the name Stalino Oblast as Donetsk was then named "Stalino", in honour of Joseph Stalin. As part of the de-Stalinization process, it was renamed after the Siversky Donets river, the main artery of Eastern Ukraine. Its population is estimated as 4,100,280

Illich Steel and Iron Works

Illich Steel and Iron Works

Illich Iron & Steel Works is the second largest metallurgical enterprise in Ukraine, after Kryvorizhstal. It is located in Mariupol.

Sea of Azov

Sea of Azov

The Sea of Azov is an inland shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow Strait of Kerch, and is sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Russia on the east, and by Ukraine on the northwest and southwest, currently under Russian occupation. It is an important access route for Central Asia, from the Caspian Sea via the Volga-Don Canal.

Crimea

Crimea

Crimea is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukraine. To the east, the Crimean Bridge, constructed in 2018, spans the Strait of Kerch, linking the peninsula with Krasnodar Krai in Russia. The Arabat Spit, located to the northeast, is a narrow strip of land that separates the Syvash lagoons from the Sea of Azov. Across the Black Sea to the west lies Romania and to the south is Turkey. The largest city is Sevastopol. The region has a population of 2.4 million, and has been under Russian occupation since 2014.

Revolution of Dignity

Revolution of Dignity

The Revolution of Dignity also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution, took place in Ukraine in February 2014 at the end of the Euromaidan protests, when deadly clashes between protesters and state forces in the capital Kyiv culminated in the ousting of elected President Viktor Yanukovych and a return to the 2004 Constitution. It also led to the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine

2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine

From the end of February 2014, demonstrations by pro-Russian and anti-government groups took place in major cities across the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity, which resulted in the success of Euromaidan in ousting then-President Viktor Yanukovych. The unrest, supported by Russia in the early stages of the Russo-Ukrainian War, has been referred to in Russia as the "Russian Spring".

Donetsk People's Republic

Donetsk People's Republic

The Donetsk People's Republic is an unrecognised republic of Russia in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, with its capital in Donetsk. The DPR was created by militarily-armed Russian-backed separatists in 2014, and it initially operated as a breakaway state until it was annexed by Russia in 2022.

Battle of Novoazovsk

Battle of Novoazovsk

Insurgents affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), backed by Russian troops, opened a new front in the war in Donbas on 25 August 2014, when they attacked the Ukrainian government-controlled city of Novoazovsk in southern Donetsk. Government forces were forced to retreat from Novoazovsk to the city of Mariupol, leaving DPR forces in control.

Preliminary shelling and advance on the city

On 24 February, the day the invasion began, Russian artillery bombarded the city, reportedly injuring 26 people.^[87][88]

On the morning of 25 February, Russian forces advanced from DPR territory in the east towards Mariupol. They encountered Ukrainian forces near the village of Pavlopil, with Ukrainian forces defeating the Russian advance.^[89] Vadym Boychenko, mayor of Mariupol, said that 22 Russian tanks had been destroyed in the skirmish.^[90][91]

The Russian Navy, drawing on the capabilities provided by the Black Sea Fleet, reportedly began an amphibious assault on the Sea of Azov coastline 70 kilometres (43 mi) west of Mariupol on the evening of 25 February.^[92] A US defense official stated that the Russians may have deployed thousands of marines from this beachhead.^[93][94][95]

On 26 February, Russian forces continued to bombard Mariupol with artillery.^[96] Later, the government of Greece announced that ten ethnic Greek civilians had been killed by Russian strikes at Mariupol, six in the village of Sartana and four in the village of Buhas.^[97][98]

On the morning of 27 February, Boychenko said that a Russian tank column had advanced on Mariupol from the DPR, but this attack was repulsed by Ukrainian forces, with six Russian soldiers captured.^[99] Later that day, a 6-year-old girl in Mariupol was killed by Russian shelling.^[100] Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Donetsk Oblast, stated that fighting in Mariupol had continued throughout the night of 27 February.^[101]

Throughout 28 February, the city remained under Ukrainian control, despite being surrounded by Russian troops and constantly shelled.^[102][103] Electricity, gas, and internet connection to most of the city was cut during the evening.^[104] Later, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russian Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky was killed by a Ukrainian sniper near Mariupol, but other sources said that he had been killed during the Kyiv offensive.^[105][106]

Mariupol surrounded

An apartment building damaged during shelling in Mariupol, 2 March 2022

On 1 March, Denis Pushilin, the head of the DPR, announced that DPR forces had almost completely surrounded the nearby city of Volnovakha and that they would soon do the same to Mariupol.^[107] Russian artillery later bombarded Mariupol, causing over 21 injuries.^[108]

The city was fully surrounded on 2 March,^[49][109] after which the siege intensified.^[110] Russian shelling killed a teenager and wounded two other teenagers who were playing soccer outside.^[111][112] Boychenko announced the city was suffering from a water outage and had experienced massive casualties. He also said Russian forces were preventing civilians from exiting.^[113][114]

Russian bombing of Mariupol,
3 March 2022

Smoke from many buildings amid massive Russian bombing in Mariupol,
3 March 2022

Later on 2 March, Russian artillery targeted a densely populated neighborhood of Mariupol, shelling it for nearly 15 hours. The neighborhood was massively damaged as a result, with deputy mayor Sergiy Orlov reporting that "at least hundreds of people are dead".^[115][116]

On the morning of 3 March, the city was shelled again by Russian troops.^[117] Eduard Basurin, the spokesman for the DPR militia, formally called on the besieged Ukrainian forces in Mariupol to surrender or face "targeted strikes".^[118] Russian Ministry of Defense spokesman Igor Konashenkov reported that DPR forces had tightened the siege, and that three nearby settlements had been captured.^[119]

On 4 March, Boychenko stated that the city's supplies were running out, and called for a humanitarian evacuation corridor and Ukrainian military reinforcements.^[120][121] He also stated that Russian BM-21 Grads were shelling the city's hospitals and that Mariupol residents no longer had heat, running water, or electricity.^[122] Later that day, a temporary ceasefire was proposed for the Mariupol region in order to allow citizens to evacuate.^[123]

On 5 March, the Ukrainian government announced its desire to evacuate 200,000 civilians from Mariupol. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced that it would act as a guarantor for a new ceasefire to allow for this evacuation.^[124] The Red Cross described the situation in Mariupol as "extremely dire".^[125] After three days of shelling, a ceasefire was announced to be in effect from 11:00 to 16:00.^[126] Civilians began to evacuate from Mariupol along a humanitarian corridor to the city of Zaporizhzhia. As civilians entered the evacuation corridor, Russian forces continued shelling the city, forcing evacuees to turn back.^[127]

Ukrainian authorities later reported that Russian forces had failed to observe the ceasefire and continued to shell the city.^[128] Russian officials accused Ukrainian forces of not allowing civilians to evacuate towards Russia.^[129] The DPR reported that only 17 civilians had been evacuated from Mariupol.^[130]

On 6 March, the Red Cross announced that a second attempt to evacuate civilians from Mariupol had again failed.^[131] Anton Herashchenko, a Ukrainian official, said the second attempt at a humanitarian corridor for civilians in Mariupol ended with a Russian bombardment.^[131] The Red Cross reported that there were "devastating scenes of human suffering" in Mariupol.^[131][132] Later in the morning, Inna Sovsun, a Ukrainian member of parliament, stated that the fuel pipeline that supplies Mariupol was damaged by Russian forces, leaving more than 700,000 people without heat, and suggested that people might freeze to death, as the temperature at the time often fell below 0 °C (32 °F).^[133] The bombardment also hit the city's last functioning cellular tower.^[134]

On 7 March, the ICRC Director of Operations stated that humanitarian corridor agreements had only been made in principle, without the precision required for implementation, needing routes, times and whether goods could be brought in to be agreed. The ICRC team had found that one of the proposed corridor roads was mined, and the ICRC was facilitating talks between Russian and Ukrainian forces.^[135][136]

On 8 March, another attempt to evacuate civilians was made, but the Ukrainian government accused Russia of violating the ceasefire again by bombing the evacuation corridor.^[137]

On 9 March, the Associated Press reported that scores of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers were being buried by city workers in a mass grave at one of the city's cemeteries. Russian shelling had hit the cemetery the previous day, interrupting the burials and damaging a wall.^[138][139] Later, another attempted ceasefire failed after Orlov reported that Russian soldiers had opened fire on construction workers and evacuation points. Orlov described the city's supply shortage as so severe that residents were melting snow to get water.^[140] Later that day, the Mariupol City Council issued a statement that a Russian airstrike had struck and destroyed a maternity ward and children's hospital.^{[141][142][143]} Ukrainian officials stated that three civilians were killed and at least 17 wounded.^[144]

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Artillery

Artillery

Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and led to heavy, fairly immobile siege engines. As technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery cannons developed for battlefield use. This development continues today; modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility generally providing the largest share of an army's total firepower.

Pavlopil

Pavlopil

Pavlopil is a village in Mariupol Raion (district) in Donetsk Oblast of eastern Ukraine, at about 25 km NW from Novoazovsk and about 25 km NE from Mariupol, on the left bank of the Kalmius river.

Black Sea Fleet

Black Sea Fleet

The Black Sea Fleet is the fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimean Peninsula, are subordinate to the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces.

Beachhead

Beachhead

A beachhead is a temporary line created when a military unit reaches a landing beach by sea and begins to defend the area as other reinforcements arrive. Once a large enough unit is assembled, the invading force can begin advancing inland. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with bridgehead and lodgement. Beachheads were important in many military actions; examples include operations such as Operation Neptune during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

Greece

Greece

Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Sea of Crete and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin, featuring thousands of islands. The country consists of nine traditional geographic regions, and has a population of approximately 10.4 million. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki and Patras.

Pavlo Kyrylenko

Pavlo Kyrylenko

Pavlo Oleksandrovych Kyrylenko is a Ukrainian prosecutor and politician. He is the current Governor of Donetsk Oblast. Under martial law during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kyrylenko has served as the Head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration.

Governor of Donetsk Oblast

Governor of Donetsk Oblast

The governor of Donetsk Oblast is the head of executive branch for the Donetsk Oblast. Due to the current Russo-Ukrainian War Donetsk Oblast is, since 5 March 2015, assigned as a civil–military administration. Hence the governor of Donetsk Oblast is officially called Head of the Donetsk Regional Military Civil Administration.

Andrei Sukhovetsky

Andrei Sukhovetsky

Andrei Aleksandrovich Sukhovetsky was a Russian Airborne Forces major general. He was killed in action during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Sukhovetsky's last assignment was as deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army, a Russian Ground Forces command participating in the invasion of Ukraine. Conflicting reports of the place of his death have arisen, though his death itself is regarded as confirmed.

Kyiv offensive (2022)

Kyiv offensive (2022)

The Kyiv offensive was a theater in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. It involved attacks by Russia across the Russo-Ukrainian and Belarusian–Ukrainian borders, beginning on 24 February 2022, for control of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and the surrounding areas of Kyiv Oblast and parts of Zhytomyr Oblast. Kyiv is the site of the Ukrainian government and the headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Denis Pushilin

Denis Pushilin

Denis Vladimirovich Pushilin is a politician from the Donbas region, who is serving as the Head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) since 2018. He holds the position in acting capacity ever since the Russian annexation of the DPR in 2022.

Head of the Donetsk People's Republic

Head of the Donetsk People's Republic

The Head of the Donetsk People´s Republic is the highest office of the Donetsk People's Republic, an unrecognised republic of Russia in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast.

Battle of Volnovakha

Battle of Volnovakha

The battle of Volnovakha was a military engagement which lasted from 25 February 2022 until 12 March 2022, as part of the Eastern Ukraine offensive during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian and DPR forces engaged Ukrainian forces at the small city of Volnovakha in Donetsk Oblast, which is located close to the Ukrainian-DPR border.

Russian push into the city

The streets in Mariupol, 12 March 2022

Ukraine's military stated on 12 March that Russian forces had captured the eastern outskirts of Mariupol.^[145] Later, a vehicle convoy of 82 ethnic Greeks was able to leave the city via a humanitarian corridor.^[146][147]

On 13 March, Boychenko stated that Russian forces had bombed the city at least 22 times in the previous 24 hours, with a hundred bombs, and added that the last food and water reserves in the city were being depleted.^[148][149] The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs said that the National Guard of Ukraine had damaged several Russian armored vehicles with artillery strikes during the day.^[150] İsmail Hacıoğlu, the head of the local Sultan Suleiman Mosque, stated that 86 Turkish citizens in the city were awaiting evacuation by the Turkish government.^[151]

More than 160 cars were able to leave the city on 14 March at 13:00 local time, the first evacuation allowed during the siege. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that 450 tonnes of humanitarian aid had been brought to the city after Russian forces captured the outskirts.^[152] Ukrainian military officials were later said to have killed 150 Russian soldiers and destroyed 10 Russian vehicles.^[153]

Refugee civilians in Mariupol,
12 March 2022

On the same day, Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, stated that Chechen soldiers were participating in the siege and had briefly entered Mariupol before retreating. Kadyrov also stated that Adam Delimkhanov, a close ally and member of the State Duma, was the commander of Chechen forces in Mariupol.^[154] The funeral for Captain Alexey Glushchak of the GRU was held in Tyumen, and it was revealed he died near Mariupol, likely in the early stages of the siege.^[155]

On 15 March, around 4,000 vehicles with about 20,000 civilians were able to leave the city.^[156]

Ukrainian government official Anton Herashchenko said that Russian Major General Oleg Mityaev, commander of the 150th Motorized Rifle Division, was killed when Russian forces tried to storm the city.^[10][157] The Donetsk Regional Drama Theatre, sheltering hundreds of civilians, was hit by a Russian airstrike on 16 March and destroyed.^[158] Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of Donetsk Oblast, later stated that Russian forces had also targeted the Neptune swimming pool.^[159]

On 18 March, DPR forces said they had captured the Mariupol airport from Ukrainian forces.^[160] Clashes later reached the city center, according to the mayor^[161] and on 19 March, Russian and Ukrainian forces began fighting at the Azovstal steel plant.^[162] On the same day, President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded Colonel Volodymyr Baranyuk and Major Denys Prokopenko, leaders of the defense in Mariupol, the honor of Hero of Ukraine, the country's highest military award.^[163][164] During this time, while attempting to transport the killed and wounded to the hospital at Azovstal, Major Mykyta Nadtochii, commander of the Azov Regiment's second battalion, was wounded in a Russian airstrike.^[165]

Russian tank destroyed by Ukrainian troops in Mariupol

Ukrainian soldiers attack a Russian tank in Mariupol

On 20 March, the city council of Mariupol claimed Russian forces had forcefully deported "several thousand" people to camps and remote cities in Russia over the past week.^{[166][167][168]} Russia denied the accusation.^[168] The same day, an art school building, which had sheltered some 400 people, was destroyed in a Russian bombing. No information on casualties was immediately available.^[169]

An order by Russia's Ministry of Defence to surrender, lay down arms and evacuate the city was submitted on 20 March, requesting a written response by 02:00 UTC the next day.^[170] The ultimatum was rejected by the Ukrainian government and the mayor of Mariupol.^[171] By this point, one of the Ukrainian battalion commanders in the city described "bombs falling every 10 minutes".^[168]

Shelled apartment building in Mariupol, 23 March 2022

On 21 March, the first helicopter evacuation from Azovstal took place as eight or nine seriously wounded soldiers were evacuated,^[172] including the wounded Major Nadtochii.^[165] Two Ukrainian Mil Mi-8 helicopters flew into Azovstal as part of "Operation Air Corridor", carrying a special forces team with crates of Stinger and Javelin missiles, as well as a satellite internet system.^[172] "Operation Air Corridor" lasted until 7 April, when one helicopter was shot down, followed by the shooting down of a second helicopter that was sent as part of rescue efforts to search for survivors of the first downing. The four special forces members on board the second helicopter were killed, along with the helicopter's crew.^[172] Ukraine claimed 85 seriously wounded soldiers were evacuated as part of "Operation Air Corridor"^[172] during seven missions to the Azovstal plant to resupply or deliver reinforcements using some 16 Mi-8s, in pairs or fours, two of which were shot down, along with the rescue helicopter, according to Major General Kyrylo Budanov.^[173] In contrast, Ukrainian president Zelensky stated 90 percent of helicopter pilots sent to Mariupol during the course of the siege to resupply Ukrainian forces and evacuate the wounded were lost due to Russian air-defenses.^[174] According to Russia, one Ukrainian Mil Mi-8 helicopter was shot down on 28 March,^[175] as it was heading to Mariupol to evacuate the leaders of the Azov Regiment.^[176] In addition, Russia reported its forces shot down two more Ukrainian Mi-8s on 5 April, as they were once again attempting to evacuate Azov commanders.^[177]

On 23 March, local authorities, including the mayor, left the city due to the deteriorating situation.^[178] The following day, Russian forces entered central Mariupol,^[179] seizing the Orthodox Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God. The city administration alleged that Russians were trying to demoralize residents by publicly shouting claims of Russian victories, including statements that Odessa had been captured.^[180]

Vadym Boychenko said on 27 March that while Mariupol was still under Ukrainian control, Russian forces had entered deep into the city and that the city's population needed a "complete evacuation".^[181] By this point, Ukrainian soldiers had run out of food and clean drinking water, and an analyst believed that Ukrainian forces would not be able to fight on beyond a few days. However, Ukrainian officers refused to evacuate from the city, as they did not want to abandon their wounded and dead soldiers and civilians.^[182] The "Club 8bit" computer museum was destroyed.^[183]

On 28 March, Mayor Vadym Boychenko said "we are in the hands of the occupiers today" in a televised interview,^[184] and a spokesman for the Mariupol mayor's office announced that "nearly 5,000 people" had been killed in the city since the start of the siege.^{[185][186][187]} The Ukrainian government estimated that "from 20,000 to 30,000" Mariupol residents had been forcibly sent^[188] to camps in Russia^[166] under Russian military control.^[188] During the day, Russian forces seized the administrative building in the northern Kalmiusky district^[12] and the military headquarters of the Azov Regiment.^[189] The next day, Russian forces were reported to have likely divided Ukrainian troops in the city into two and possibly even three pockets.^[190]

On 2 April, Russian forces captured the SBU building in central Mariupol,^[191] after which there was no more reported fighting in the area. On 4 April, one Ukrainian battalion surrendered,^[192] with Russian officials stating two days later they captured 267 Ukrainian marines from the 503rd Battalion of the Ukrainian Naval Forces.^[193] Due to the surrender, the lines between the Ukrainian 36th Separate Marine Brigade and the Azov Regiment had been broken.^[192] On 7 April, the DPR announced central Mariupol had been cleared of Ukrainian forces.^[194]

Meanwhile, Russian troops started an advance from the southwest on 1 April, leaving the Ukrainian military in partial control of the area around the port in the southwest of Mariupol by 7 April.^[194] On 4 April, a Russian Navy missile hit a Malta-based Dominica-flagged cargo ship, resulting in the ship catching fire.^[195] In addition, on 7 April, Russian forces captured a bridge leading to the Azovstal steel plant.^[196] The following day, Russian troops seized the southern part of Mariupol's port.^[197]

On 10 April, Russian forces captured the fishing port, separating Ukrainian troops in the port from those in the Azovstal steel plant into two pockets, while a possible third pocket was centered on the Illich steel plant to the north.^[198] The next day, DPR forces claimed to have captured 80% of Mariupol. Local Ukrainian forces expected the city to fall soon, since they were running out of ammunition, and analysts at the Institute for the Study of War believed that Mariupol would fall within a week.^[199][200]

Final pockets of resistance

On 11 April, Russian media reported that 160 Ukrainian servicemen from the 36th Separate Marine Brigade were captured with their equipment.^[201]

During the night between 11 and 12 April,^[202] Baranyuk led the 36th Separate Marine Brigade in an attempt to break out of the Russian encirclement at the Illich steel plant to the north. After being spotted they broke into smaller groups,^[203] with some of them managing to link up with fighters of the Azov Regiment at the Azovstal plant to the southeast.^[204][205] A large number of Ukrainian servicemen were either killed or captured during the breakout.^[192] The fate of Baranyuk initially remained unknown.^[203] Later, the DPR claimed that they had identified the body of Baranyuk after their special forces blocked the Ukrainian breakout.^[202] However, on 8 May, Baranyuk appeared alive in an interview with RT, along with the 36th Brigade's Chief of Staff Dmytro Kormiankov. They were reported to have been captured during the breakout attempt.^[5]

Around the same time at 11 April, a battalion of tankers of the 17th Tank Brigade, which were doing operations supporting the 36th Brigade, did not follow Baranyuk's plan and instead broke through the siege. They used two tanks, anti-aircraft guns and cars for transport, and after breaking out they proceeded on foot for 175 km until reaching friendly Ukrainian positions.^[18] For leading his men to safety, the unit's commander, Liutenant Colonel Oleg Grudzevych, was awarded a Hero of Ukraine medal.^[18]

On 12 April, Aiden Aslin, a British man fighting with the Ukrainian Marines, reported that his unit was going to surrender since they had run out of ammunition, food and other supplies.^[206] Subsequently, in the evening,^[207] Russia stated that 1,026 Marines of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade had surrendered at the Illich steel plant, including 162 officers and 400 wounded fighters.^{[208][209][204][207]} Later, Russia said it captured an additional 134 Ukrainian servicemen, bringing the total number of prisoners to 1,160.^[210] Ukraine confirmed nearly 1,000 Marines had been captured,^[192] including wounded and those who remained at the Illich plant.^[211] On 13 April, Russian forces secured the Illich plant, reducing the number of pockets in Mariupol to two,^[204] while Russia also announced it had taken full control of Mariupol's commercial port,^[212] which was confirmed three days later.^[213] The commander of the Azov Regiment, Prokopenko, criticized the servicemen that had surrendered, while praising those that managed to link up with his unit.^[214] Prokopenko, as well as Ukrainian intelligence officer Illia Samoilenko, also blamed Baranyuk for the large losses inflicted on Ukrainian forces, stating his actions were uncoordinated. According to Prokopenko, Baranyuk's breakout attempt was made without warning to other units and the direction of attack was not previously agreed upon,^[192] while Samoilenko called Baranyuk a "coward", stating he tried to flee the city, "taking with him people, tanks and ammunition".^[215]

Ukrainian military expert Oleg Zhdanov claimed that by this point the Russian 810th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade, originally sent from Feodosia, had suffered extremely heavy losses during the siege, to the extent of being "destroyed twice."^[216]

Discover more about Urban advances related topics

National Guard of Ukraine

National Guard of Ukraine

The National Guard of Ukraine is the Ukrainian national gendarmerie and internal military force. It is part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, responsible for public security. Originally created as an agency under the direct control of the Verkhovna Rada on 4 November 1991, following Ukrainian independence, it was later disbanded and merged into the Internal Troops of Ukraine in 2000 by then-President Leonid Kuchma as part of a "cost-saving" scheme. Following the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, amidst the Russian intervention, the National Guard was re-established, and the Internal Troops were disbanded.

Sultan Suleiman Mosque

Sultan Suleiman Mosque

The Sultan Suleiman Mosque, is located in Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The mosque is named in honor of Suleiman the Magnificent and Roxelana.

Turkey

Turkey

Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east; Iraq to the southeast; Syria and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. Cyprus is off the south coast. Most of the country's citizens are ethnic Turks, while Kurds are the largest ethnic minority. Ankara is Turkey's capital and second-largest city; Istanbul is its largest city and main financial centre.

Ramzan Kadyrov

Ramzan Kadyrov

Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov is a Russian politician who currently serves as the Head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated to the Chechen independence movement, through his father who was the separatist appointed mufti of Chechnya. He is a colonel general in the Russian military.

Chechnya

Chechnya

Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, close to the Caspian Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federal District, and shares land borders with the country of Georgia to its south; with the Russian republics of Dagestan, Ingushetia, and North Ossetia-Alania to its east, north, and west; and with Stavropol Krai to its northwest.

Adam Delimkhanov

Adam Delimkhanov

Adam Sultanovich Delimkhanov is a Russian politician who has been member of the Russian State Duma since 2007. He is a member of the United Russia. He heads the Chechen branch of Rosgvardia.

State Duma

State Duma

The State Duma, commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma, is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house is the Federation Council. The Duma headquarters are located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to as deputies. The State Duma replaced the Supreme Soviet as a result of the new constitution introduced by Boris Yeltsin in the aftermath of the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993, and approved in a nationwide referendum.

GRU

GRU

The Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formerly the Main Intelligence Directorate, and still commonly known by its previous abbreviation GRU, is the foreign military intelligence agency of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The GRU controls the military intelligence service and maintains its own special forces units.

Oleg Mityaev (general)

Oleg Mityaev (general)

Oleg Yuryevich Mityaev is a Russian major-general who according to Ukrainian officials was killed during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine on 15 March 2022. His death, however, has not been confirmed.

Pavlo Kyrylenko

Pavlo Kyrylenko

Pavlo Oleksandrovych Kyrylenko is a Ukrainian prosecutor and politician. He is the current Governor of Donetsk Oblast. Under martial law during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kyrylenko has served as the Head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration.

Denys Prokopenko

Denys Prokopenko

Denys Hennadiyovych Prokopenko is a Ukrainian military officer, a Lieutenant Colonel in the National Guard of Ukraine, and Commander of the Azov Regiment. Since 2014 until his capture in May 2022 by Russian forces, he fought against Russia and pro-Russian separatist forces in the Donbas in the ongoing Russo–Ukrainian War.

Hero of Ukraine

Hero of Ukraine

Hero of Ukraine is the highest national decoration that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the President of Ukraine.

Withdrawal to Azovstal

The Azovstal steel plant in 2014

The Siege of Mariupol on 15 April 2022

On 15 April, a Ukrainian military commander issued a plea for military reinforcements to come and "break the siege" of Mariupol. He also said that "the situation is critical and the fighting is fierce" but that sending reinforcements and breaking the siege "can be done and it must be done as soon as possible".^[217] On the same day, Ukrainian Defence Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzianyk reported Russia started using Tu-22M3 long-range bombers to strike targets in Mariupol.^[218] The Azovstal iron and steel works, the heart of one of the remaining pockets of resistance, was well-defended and described as a "fortress within a city", as the steel plant was an enormous complex that made locating the Ukrainian forces difficult and had workshops that were difficult to destroy from the air. Additionally, the complex contained a system of underground tunnels, which would make clearing the entire complex challenging.^[219] During the day, Russian forces captured the base of the Ukrainian National Guard's 12th Operational Brigade [ru; uk], in western Mariupol.^[220]

On 16 April, DPR troops seized a police station near Mariupol's beach^[220] and Russian forces were confirmed to have seized the Vessel Traffic Control Center at the port.^[213] Several days after the port was captured, on 20 April, a Ukrainian Marine officer claimed Marine and Azov forces from the Azovstal plant conducted an evacuation operation of around 500 members of the Ukrainian Border Guard and National Police from the port, as they were running out of ammunition. According to the officer, the Ukrainian forces from the Azovstal pocket made an armoured breakthrough to the port and provided covering fire, as the 500 besieged soldiers retreated to the Azovstal plant.^[20] Subsequently, Russia announced all urban areas of the city had been cleared, claiming that Ukrainian forces only remained at the Azovstal Steel Plant.^[52] However, fighting was reported to be continuing near Flotskaya street in the western Primorsky District.^[213]

On 18 April, it was estimated that 95% of the city had been destroyed in the fighting.^[55] Ukrainian soldiers ignored a Russian ultimatum to surrender, deciding to fight to the end. Russia threatened to "destroy" those who continued to fight on.^[221] A military expert estimated that there could still be 500 to 800 Ukrainian soldiers holding out within the city,^[222] while Russian officials estimated that 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers and 400 foreign volunteers were holding out within the Azovstal plant.^[221]

Siege of Azovstal

On 20 April, Russian and DPR forces made small advances on the outskirts of the Azovstal plant.^[223] On 21 April, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops not to storm the Azovstal steel plant, but to blockade it instead until the Ukrainian forces there ran out of supplies. He also reported that "The completion of combat work to liberate Mariupol is a success", while a Ukrainian official rebutted Putin's comments, saying that Russia's choice of implementing a blockade over storming the steel plant meant that Russia had admitted their inability to physically capture Mariupol.^[224][225] General Sir Richard Barrons, former commander of the United Kingdom's Joint Forces Command, assessed that the battle for the plant was no longer "really relevant" in regard to the control of the city and its roads, since Russia and Crimea were now connected. In his opinion, defeating Ukrainian forces at the plant would have been "really difficult" for Russian troops without an "enormous cost to both sides".^[226] Despite the ordered blockade, Russian forces advanced within 20 metres (66 ft) of some of the Ukrainian positions.^[227]

On 22 April, the western Primorsky District was thought to be cleared by Russian forces, with no more reports of fighting, with all of the remaining Ukrainian forces surrounded in the Azovstal Steel Plant.^[51] On 23 April, according to Ukraine, airstrikes and an apparent ground assault recommenced on the Azovstal steel works. An advisor to the Ukrainian President said: "The enemy is trying to strangle the final resistance of the defenders of Mariupol in the Azovstal area".^[228] However, this could not be independently confirmed.^[229] Ukrainian security chief Oleksiy Danilov claimed that at night, a helicopter had resupplied Azovstal.^[230] On the same day, it was reported that Russia was redeploying forces from Mariupol to other fronts in eastern Ukraine, with Russia reportedly redeploying 12 units from Mariupol.^[230] On the next day, Russian forces continued bombing Ukrainian positions in the Azovstal Steel Plant, with reports that Russian forces might have been planning a renewed assault on the facility.^[231] During the night of 27 to 28 April, the heaviest airstrikes yet were reportedly conducted against Azovstal, with more than 50 strikes by Tu-22M3, Su-25s and Su-24s aircraft hitting the facility, according to Ukraine. Ukraine claimed a military field hospital was hit, with the number of wounded increasing from 170 before the strike to more than 600 after the bombing.^[232][233]

Evacuation of civilians

ICRC buses preparing for an evacuation convoy on 8 May 2022 to Zaporizhzhia

On 30 April, the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) started to run evacuations through a humanitarian corridor.^[234][235] This corridor was made after a trip by Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres to Moscow the previous week, where he personally brokered a deal.^[235] On 30 April 20 civilians had left the Azovstal steel plant, while Russian media claimed a number of 25. Talks were underway to try and release the remaining 1,000 or so civilians.^[236][237] At least two of the wives of members of the Azov Regiment called for a concurrent evacuation of the about 2,000 forces that would be left behind after the civilian evacuation, highlighting concerns of treatment as POWs by the Russians and lack of medical and food supplies.^[238]

On 2 May, about 100 civilians were reported to have been evacuated.^[239] Russian aircraft, according to the US Department of Defense, were using dumb bombs in Mariupol.^[240] Russian ground forces were also reported to be pulling out of the city, possibly to reinforce their positions elsewhere in the Donbas, where Russia was carrying out a large-scale offensive. According to one US DOD official: "Largely the efforts around Mariupol for the Russians are now in the realm of airstrikes".^[241] On 3 May, the Russian forces in Mariupol restarted their attacks on Azovstal.^[242] They began an assault on the steel plant in what have been called "difficult bloody battles".^[243] The following day it was reported the Russians had broken into the plant.^[244] Ukrainian politician Davyd Arakhamia said: "Attempts to storm the plant continue for the second day. Russian troops are already on the territory of Azovstal."^[245] On 5 May, some 300 civilians were allowed to leave due to Russia opening humanitarian corridors. These corridors ran from 8am to 6pm.^[246] Ukrainian forces blamed Russian success on an electrician who gave Russian forces information about the underground tunnel network, claiming: “Yesterday, the Russians started storming these tunnels, using the information they received from the betrayer.”^[247]

On 5 May, The Telegraph reported that Russia had intensified its bombing of the steel factory bunkers by using thermobaric bombs to increase the devastation of deployed firepower against the remaining Ukrainian soldiers who had lost all contact with the Kyiv government; in his last communications, Zelenskyy had authorized the commander of the besieged steel factory to surrender as necessary under the pressure of increased Russian attacks.^[248]

On 6 May, some 500 civilians, in total, had been evacuated according to the United Nations. The Azov Regiment reported one fighter killed and six wounded while helping evacuate civilians.^[249]

On 7 May, the Ukrainian government announced that all of the remaining women, children and elderly who had been inside the Azovstal steel plant had been evacuated.^{[250][251][252]}

Ukrainian surrender

On 8 May, the commander of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, Serhiy Volynskyi, asked "that a higher power find a way to figure out our rescue". As to their current conditions, "It feels like I've landed in a hellish reality show in which us soldiers fight for our lives and the whole world watches this interesting episode. Pain, suffering, hunger, misery, tears, fears, death. It's all real." President Zelenskyy promised "we are working on evacuating our military".^[253]

On 9 May, the Donetsk People's Republic held a Victory Day parade in Mariupol. The leader of the Republic, Denis Pushilin participated in the event.^[254] At the same time, a meeting took place near Mariupol involving Russian military representatives and Ukrainian commanders from Azovstal, including Major Prokopenko, who were brought to the meeting place by Russian armoured vehicles from Azovstal. During the meeting, the terms of the Ukrainians' surrender were agreed upon.^[255]

On 10 May, Ukrainian authorities reported that over 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers, hundreds of them wounded, remained trapped inside the Azovstal steelworks.^[256][257]

The Institute for the Study of War noted the lack of a Russian ground offensive on 12 May,^[258] but noted that Russian forces had likely secured the M14 highway the following day.^[259]

Ukrainian prisoners after the fall of Azovstal

On 16 May, Alexander Khodakovsky, commander of a DPR brigade stationed near Azovstal, stated that a group of nine soldiers had come out of the plant to negotiate under a white flag.^[260] On the same day, the Ukrainian General staff announced that the Mariupol garrison had "fulfilled its combat mission" and that "evacuation" from the Azovstal steel plant had begun. The military said that 264 service members, 53 of them seriously wounded, had been taken by bus to areas controlled by Russian forces.^[261] A social media post was released by Azov Regiment commander Denys Prokopenko stating: "In order to save lives, the entire Mariupol garrison is implementing the approved decision of the Supreme Military Command and hopes for the support of the Ukrainian people." Wounded Ukrainian soldiers from the Azovstal plant were taken to the DPR-controlled town of Novoazovsk for treatment.^[262] The evacuation of wounded troops was followed in the subsequent days by the surrender of the remainder of the garrison. Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said: "Thanks to the defenders of Mariupol, Ukraine gained critically important time to form reserves and regroup forces and receive help from partners. And they fulfilled all their tasks. But it is impossible to unblock Azovstal by military means."^[263]

Russia press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin had guaranteed that the fighters who surrendered would be treated "in accordance with international standards" while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address that "the work of bringing the boys home continues, and this work needs delicacy – and time". Some prominent Russian lawmakers called on the government to deny prisoner exchanges for members of the Azov Regiment.^[264] The ICRC registered the surrendered troops as prisoners of war at the request of both sides, collecting information to contact their families.^[265]

On 18 May, Russian artillery and aircraft bombed once again Azovstal's remaining defenders. The DPR leadership claimed that the local high-ranking Ukrainian commanders had not yet surrendered.^[266] According to Russian sources, the last defenders surrendered on 20 May, among them Lieutenant Colonel Prokopenko, Major Volynskyi and Captain Svyatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov Regiment.^[267][268] The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that altogether 2,439 prisoners had been taken at Azovstal between 16 and 20 May, and that the steel plant was now under control of Russian and DPR forces.^{[269][270][271]}

Discover more about Resistance in the Azovstal steel plant related topics

State Border Guard Service of Ukraine

State Border Guard Service of Ukraine

The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine is the border guard of Ukraine. It is an independent law enforcement agency, organized by the Constitution of Ukraine as a military formation, the head of which is subordinated to the President of Ukraine.

National Police of Ukraine

National Police of Ukraine

The National Police of Ukraine, often simply referred to as the Politsiya, is the national, and only, police service of Ukraine. It was formed on 3 July 2015, as part of the post-Euromaidan reforms launched by Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, to replace Ukraine's previous national police service, the Militsiya. On 7 November 2015, all the remaining militsiya were labelled "temporary acting" members of the National Police.

Richard Barrons

Richard Barrons

General Sir Richard Lawson Barrons, is a retired British Army officer. He was Commander Joint Forces Command from April 2013 until his retirement in April 2016.

Strategic Command (United Kingdom)

Strategic Command (United Kingdom)

The United Kingdom's Strategic Command (StratCom), previously known as Joint Forces Command (JFC), manages allocated joint capabilities from the three armed services.

Oleksiy Danilov

Oleksiy Danilov

Oleksiy Miacheslavovych Danilov is a Ukrainian politician who has been the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine since 3 October 2019.

Sukhoi Su-25

Sukhoi Su-25

The Sukhoi Su-25 Grach is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Ground Forces. The first prototype made its maiden flight on 22 February 1975. After testing, the aircraft went into series production in 1978 in Tbilisi in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Sukhoi Su-24

Sukhoi Su-24

The Sukhoi Su-24 is a supersonic, all-weather tactical bomber developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, twin-engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for its crew of two. It was the first of the USSR's aircraft to carry an integrated digital navigation/attack system. It remains in service with the Russian Air Force, Syrian Air Force, Ukrainian Air Force, Algerian Air Force and various other air forces to which it was exported.

International Committee of the Red Cross

International Committee of the Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signatories) to the Geneva Convention of 1949 and its Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005 have given the ICRC a mandate to protect victims of international and internal armed conflicts. Such victims include war wounded persons, prisoners, refugees, civilians, and other non-combatants.

Humanitarian corridor

Humanitarian corridor

A humanitarian corridor is a type of temporary demilitarized zone intended to allow the safe transit of humanitarian aid in, and/or refugees out of a crisis region. Such a corridor can also be associated with a no-fly zone or no-drive zone.

Secretary-General of the United Nations

Secretary-General of the United Nations

The secretary-general of the United Nations is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.

António Guterres

António Guterres

António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Socialist Party, Guterres served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002.

Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million residents within the city limits, over 17 million residents in the urban area, and over 21.5 million residents in the metropolitan area. The city covers an area of 2,511 square kilometers (970 sq mi), while the urban area covers 5,891 square kilometers (2,275 sq mi), and the metropolitan area covers over 26,000 square kilometers (10,000 sq mi). Moscow is among the world's largest cities; being the most populous city entirely in Europe, the largest urban and metropolitan area in Europe, and the largest city by land area on the European continent.

On 18 May, Denis Pushilin announced Azovstal would be demolished by the Donetsk People's Republic, and Mariupol would be turned into a resort city.^[2]

Russian Telegram bloggers shared a video, reportedly showing Russian soldiers attacking some remaining Ukrainian holdouts at Azovstal on 22 May.^[272] Head of the DPR Denis Pushilin claimed that some Ukrainian holdouts had been discovered and captured in the area of the Azovstal plant.^[273]

On 26 May, Russia reopened the Port of Mariupol to commercial vessels following mine removal.^[274]

In an explosion at Olenivka prison on 29 July 2022, 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war from Mariupol were killed and 75 wounded.^[275] Both Ukrainian and Russian authorities accused each other of the attack on the prison.^[276][277] As of 30 July, there was no independent confirmation of what occurred.^[278]

City government's role

Mariupol’s Mayor Vadym Boychenko had forced to leave Mariupol on February 27 after Ukrainian special services insistence. The information was received from the special services about the intentions of Russian sabotage groups to capture the legitimate mayor.^[279]

First Deputy Mayor Mykhailo Kohut remained in Mariupol, on Boychenko’s behalf, who was responsible for the direction of communal work and city defense.^[280]

According to the head of the patrol police of Mariupol Mykhailo Vershinin, Kohut helped with the defense of the city from Russian invaders and coordinated public utilities actions under intense shelling.^[281]

Kohut held his last meeting with public utilities on March 19, at that time street fighting was going on in the city. The last head of public services left the captured city on March 24.^[282]

Cholera outbreak

The Ukrainian parliament stated on 30 April 2022 that the city's living conditions had been reduced to "medieval" levels, and that most of the city's sanitary and health infrastructure was destroyed, potentially putting the city's citizens at risk of disease.^[283]

In late April, the Mariupol City Council urged the evacuation of 100,000 residents, warning of "deadly epidemics" in the city.^[284]

On 28 April 2022, the Rospotrebnadzor issued a 40-paragraph resolution calling for additional measures to be taken in regards to drinking and waste water, especially in places which had become locations for Ukrainian refugees (specifically Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Rostov and Voronezh Oblasts), as well as providing information to citizens about cholera by 1 June 2022. The government of Rostov Oblast announced that Ukrainian refugees in Russia would be tested for cholera.^[284]

On 17 May 2022, the World Health Organization warned of the possibility of cholera outbreaks in Ukraine, with WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge saying, "We are concerned about the potential cholera outbreak in occupied areas where water and sanitation infrastructure is damaged or destroyed." Such concerns were echoed by WHO Ukraine incident Manager Dorit Nitzan, who reported "swamps" of waste water on the streets of Mariupol, and claimed that there were cases of sewage and drinking water being mixed in the city.^[285]

On 6 June 2022, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Healthcare Ihor Kuzin warned against a potential cholera outbreak in the city; saying that all preconditions for an outbreak were already present. In addition to Mariupol, Ukrainian task forces tested soil and drinking water in Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, and Sumy Oblasts. Shortly after his announcement, Russian occupational authorities imposed a quarantine on the city.^[286]

Mayor Boychenko said on 11 June that there was an outbreak of cholera in the city as sanitation systems were broken and corpses were rotting in the streets.^[287]

Spread

Medical officials in Ukraine and Russia have cautioned that cholera could spread beyond Mariupol, with Russian government officials in oblasts bordering Ukraine establishing labs to treat cholera. Ukrainian epidemiologist Liudmyla Mukharska warned that the outbreak could spread throughout the rest of the Donbas, and that outbreaks of intestinal infections, dysentery, salmonellosis, and hepatitis A and E were possible. Other epidemiologists said that due to rotations of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine and the deportation of Ukrainians to filtration camps within Russia, the spread of the cholera outbreak to Russia was inevitable.^[288]

Discover more about Aftermath related topics

Denis Pushilin

Denis Pushilin

Denis Vladimirovich Pushilin is a politician from the Donbas region, who is serving as the Head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) since 2018. He holds the position in acting capacity ever since the Russian annexation of the DPR in 2022.

Donetsk People's Republic

Donetsk People's Republic

The Donetsk People's Republic is an unrecognised republic of Russia in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, with its capital in Donetsk. The DPR was created by militarily-armed Russian-backed separatists in 2014, and it initially operated as a breakaway state until it was annexed by Russia in 2022.

Port of Mariupol

Port of Mariupol

The Port of Mariupol or Mariupol Sea Port is located in Mariupol, Ukraine in the Taganrog Bay, Sea of Azov. The port is governed by the port authority managed by Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority. As of June 2022, it is occupied by Russian armed forces.

Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing

Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing

The Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing or Rospotrebnadzor is the federal service responsible for the supervision of consumer rights protection and human wellbeing in Russia. This service was founded in 2004, and was included in the structure of the Ministry of Health Care of Russia until 2012. In May 2012 Rospotrebnadzor was removed from the supervision of the Ministry of Health and now reports directly to the Russian Government. It functions on the authority of the Act of Federal Service on the base of the Administrative Regulation.

Belgorod Oblast

Belgorod Oblast

Belgorod Oblast is a federal subject of Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Belgorod. Population: 1,540,486 (2021 Census); 1,532,526 (2010 Census); 1,511,620 (2002 Census); 1,380,723 (1989 Census).

Bryansk Oblast

Bryansk Oblast

Bryansk Oblast, also known as Bryanshchina, is a federal subject of Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Bryansk. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 1,169,161.

Kursk Oblast

Kursk Oblast

Kursk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Kursk. As of the 2021 Census, Kursk Oblast has a population of 1,082,458.

Rostov Oblast

Rostov Oblast

Rostov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia, located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast has an area of 100,800 square kilometers (38,900 sq mi) and a population of 4,200,729, making it the sixth most populous federal subject in Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Rostov-on-Don, which also became the administrative center of the Southern Federal District in 2002.

Hans Kluge

Hans Kluge

Hans Henri Marcel Paul Kluge (born 29 November 1968, is a Belgian medical doctor and public health expert with more than 25 years of experience spanning three continents. As of 1 February 2020, he served as the World Health Organization Regional Director for Europe after being nominated in September 2019 by the WHO Regional Committee for Europe. In 2019, Belgium proposed Dr Kluge as a candidate for the position of WHO Regional Director for Europe.

Kyiv Oblast

Kyiv Oblast

Kyiv Oblast or Kiev Oblast, also called Kyivshchyna, is an oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special status, though Kyiv also serves as the administrative center of the oblast. The Kyiv metropolitan area extends out from Kyiv city into parts of the oblast, which is significantly dependent on the urban economy and transportation of Kyiv.

Chernihiv Oblast

Chernihiv Oblast

Chernihiv Oblast, also referred to as Chernihivshchyna (Черні́гівщина), is an oblast (province) in northern Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Chernihiv. Within the oblast are 1,511 settlements. Population: 959,315.

Cholera

Cholera

Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and muscle cramps may also occur. Diarrhea can be so severe that it leads within hours to severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. This may result in sunken eyes, cold skin, decreased skin elasticity, and wrinkling of the hands and feet. Dehydration can cause the skin to turn bluish. Symptoms start two hours to five days after exposure.

Military casualties

According to Ukraine, around 6,000 Russian soldiers were killed during the siege,^[30] while Russia stated more than 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers had died up to the start of the siege of the Azovstal plant in mid-April^[52] and that the bodies of another 152 Ukrainian soldiers were found in a non-functioning refrigerated truck in Azovstal following the facilitie's siege. Explosives capable of destroying the bodies were found underneath them. The bodies would be handed over to Ukraine.^[289][290] By 12 June, Russia returned the bodies of some 220 deceased Ukrainian soldiers, all of whom had been fighting in the Azovstal steelworks, while "just as many bodies" still remained in Mariupol. A third of these were soldiers from the Azov unit.^[291] Subsequently, another 145 bodies of those killed in Mariupol were returned.^{[292][293][294]}

Ukraine claimed the 810th Naval Infantry Brigade of Russia's Black Sea Fleet had 158 killed, 500 wounded and 70 missing by mid-April, while the Black Sea Fleet's 126th Coastal Defence Brigade,^[295] a unit of about 2,000 soldiers,^[296] suffered 75 percent losses.^[295] In addition, Ukraine claimed 14 special forces members of the Russian Spetsnaz GRU were killed by late March.^[297]

According to Russia, some 3,917 Ukrainian soldiers were captured during the siege,^[d] while Ukraine confirmed more than 3,500 soldiers, with an additional battalion, were taken prisoner.^[40] On 8 June, over 1,000 prisoners of war were transferred from the DPR to Russia.^[298]

Civilian casualties

Mariupol's deputy mayor Serhiy Orlov stated on 9 March that at least 1,170 civilians in the city had been killed in the city since Russia's invasion began and the dead were being buried in mass graves.^[299] On 11 March, the city council stated that at least 1,582 civilians had been killed during the siege, increasing that number on 13 March to 2,187 having been killed by the latter date.^[300][301] On 14 March, Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stated that more than 2,500 civilians had been killed in Mariupol's siege.^[302] However, the city council later clarified that 2,357 civilians had died.^[303]

Pyotr Andryushchenko, an adviser to the city government, however stated that the council's count was inaccurate and estimated that total number of civilians killed could be as high as 20,000. The New York Times reported that officials in the city had been struggling to account for how many civilians had died or gone missing during the siege. Videos posted on Telegram showed that residents of the Cheremushky neighborhood were forced to bury corpses in a courtyard, while others had to turn a post office building into a makeshift morgue, stacking it with dead bodies.^[304]

On 16 March, the Associated Press (AP) reported that it had documented that many of the dead were "children and mothers" contrary, it said, to Russian government claims that civilians had not been targeted.^[305] It also reported that doctors in Mariupol were saying that they were treating "10 injured civilians for every injured Ukrainian soldier."^[305]

On 11 April, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko stated that over 10,000 civilians had died in the Russian siege of Mariupol.^[306] On 12 April, city officials reported that up to 20,000 civilians had been killed.^[306] On the same day, the Mayor of the city reported that about 21,000 civilians had been killed.^[307] An updated Ukrainian death toll the following month put the number of civilians killed at at least 22,000.^[308]

By mid-June, The United Nations stated it had confirmed the deaths of 1,348 civilians, but said the true death toll was "likely thousands higher".^[41][42][43]

On August 29, President of Mariupol Television, volunteer and civil activist Mykola Osychenko said to Dnipro TV that, according to the insider information, 87,000 deaths have been currently documented in morgues in Mariupol. Besides, 26,750 bodies are buried in mass graves, and many more are buried in the yards of the apartment blocks and private houses, or still under the rubble.^[309]

In early November, Ukraine stated that at least 25,000 civilians had been killed in Mariupol.^[45] In late December, based on the discovery of 10,300 new mass graves, the Associated Press estimated that the true death toll may be up to three times that figure.^[310]

The Greek minority in Ukraine which is concentrated in and around Mariupol was impacted heavily by the fighting. Sartana and Volnovakha, two towns near Mariupol having substantial Greek population, were hit hard by Russian forces and nearly completely destroyed.^[311]

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126th Coastal Defence Brigade

126th Coastal Defence Brigade

The 126th Separate Guards Gorlovskaya Twice Red Banner, Order of the Suvorov Coastal Defense Brigade is a formation of the Coastal Defence Troops of Russian Navy. It has the Military Unit Number 12676. It was only very recently granted the "Guards" honorific after suffering heavy losses while unsuccessfully attempting to capture Voznesensk in southern Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Spetsnaz GRU

Spetsnaz GRU

Spetsnaz GRU or Spetsnaz G.U. (formally known as Special Forces of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces is the special forces of the G.U., the foreign military-intelligence agency of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy is a Ukrainian politician and former comedian and actor who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019.

The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times, also referred to as the Gray Lady, is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2022 to comprise 740,000 paid print subscribers, and 8.6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as The Daily. Founded in 1851, it is published by The New York Times Company. The Times has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national "newspaper of record". For print, it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the United States. The newspaper is headquartered at The New York Times Building in Times Square, Manhattan.

Telegram (software)

Telegram (software)

Telegram Messenger is a globally accessible freemium, cross-platform, encrypted, cloud-based and centralized instant messaging (IM) service. The application also provides optional end-to-end encrypted chats, popularly known as secret chat and video calling, VoIP, file sharing and several other features. It was launched for iOS on 14 August 2013 and Android on 20 October 2013. The servers of Telegram are distributed worldwide with five data centers in different parts of the world, while the operational center is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Various client apps are available for Smart TV, desktop and mobile platforms including official apps for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux. There are also two official Telegram web twin apps, WebK and WebZ, and numerous unofficial clients that make use of Telegram's protocol. Telegram's official components are open source, with the exception of the server which is closed-sourced and proprietary.

Associated Press

Associated Press

The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspapers and broadcasters. Since the award was established in 1917, the AP has earned 56 Pulitzer Prizes, including 34 for photography. It is also known for publishing the widely used AP Stylebook.

Vadym Boychenko

Vadym Boychenko

Vadym Serhiyovych Boychenko is a Ukrainian politician who de jure serves as the mayor of Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Boychenko served as mayor during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and Siege of Mariupol, during which the city has been "completely destroyed", according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Dnipro

Dnipro

Dnipro, formerly Dnipropetrovsk (1926–2016), is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, 391 km (243 mi) southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, after which its Ukrainian language name is derived. Dnipro is the administrative centre of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. It hosts the administration of Dnipro urban hromada. The population of Dnipro is 968,502

Ukrainian Greeks

Ukrainian Greeks

Ukrainian Greeks are a Greek minority that reside in or used to reside in the territory of modern Ukraine. The majority of Ukrainian Greeks live in Donetsk Oblast and are particularly concentrated around the city of Mariupol.

Sartana, Ukraine

Sartana, Ukraine

Sartana is an urban-type settlement on the banks of river Kalmius in Donetsk oblast, Ukraine. It was administratively part of the Kalmiuskyi District before 2020, and is now part of Mariupol Raion, and the settlement has close proximity to the city of Mariupol. The name of the village means "yellow calf" in the Urum language. Of the population of the settlement, about 10,070 , the majority is ethnic Greek and speak the Greek language fluently.

Volnovakha

Volnovakha

Volnovakha is a town in Ukraine. It served as the administrative center of Volnovakha Raion, one of the 18 districts of the Donetsk Oblast. Before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the population of the town was 21,166 of several ethnicities.

A shelled apartment building during around-the-clock attacks, 3 March 2022

On 6 March, Petro Andryushchenko, advisor to the mayor of Mariupol, reported that people were "drinking from puddles in the streets" due to the loss of running water in the city caused by days of around-the-clock Russian shelling and bombing attacks. He also stated that there was no heat, electricity or telephone service.^[312] According to US officials, civilians had been unable to evacuate the city due to repeated ceasefire violations, attacks on agreed-upon evacuation corridors, and direct attacks on civilians attempting to evacuate.^[313]

On 14 March, another spokesman for the ICRC announced that "hundreds of thousands" of people in the city were "facing extreme or total shortages of basic necessities like food, water and medicine."^[314] On 15 March, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk accused Russian forces of taking around 400 civilians hostage after capturing a hospital in the city.^[315] Ukrainian officials accused Russian forces of firing at an evacuation convoy and injuring five civilians on 16 March.^[316] On 18 March, Ukrainian officials stated that more than 350,000 people were sheltering under siege in Mariupol, still with no access to food or water.^[317]

On 21 March, CNN reported that an official in Mariupol said that people are afraid, due to the constant bombing and shelling, to leave their underground shelters even to obtain food and water, meaning they were trying to drink less and eat less.^[168] On 22 March, CNN reported that the Russian Army had confiscated 11 buses that were headed into the city in order to evacuate citizens.^[318] Fox News later reported that at least some of the buses were filled with humanitarian supplies which were taken. It was also reported that 15 aid workers in the buses have been arrested while trying to get food into Mariupol.^[319] CNN also reported that to that date, all attempts to bring empty buses into Mariupol to evacuate civilians had failed.^[318] On 23 March, Ukrainian President Zelenskeyy announced that 100,000 civilians were still unable to get out of Mariupol and that they were trapped in "inhumane conditions" without food, running water or medicine.^[320][318]

On 1 April, a rescue effort by the UN to transport hundreds of civilian survivors out of Mariupol with 50 buses failed.^[321]

Ultimately the ICRC reported that it had helped facilitate the safe evacuation of over 10,000 civilians from Mariupol and Sumy.^[322]

Numerous war crimes were committed by Russian forces during the siege. Some media outlets described the crimes that occurred as the worst seen in the 21st century.^[323]

On 25 March, Russian Colonel-General^[324] Mikhail Mizintsev was accused by Ukrainian authorities of ordering the bombings of both the Mariupol Children's and Maternity Hospital and the city theatre where 1,200 civilians were sheltering.^[4] Mizintsev was nicknamed the "Butcher of Mariupol" by western and Ukrainian sources as a result of his alleged role in the siege,^[3][4][325] and sanctioned by the United Kingdom.^[324] Accused of personally directing war crimes during the siege, Mizintsev accused Ukrainian troops of creating a "terrible human catastrophe," and furthermore claimed that he would allow the safe exit of Ukrainian civilians from Mariupol. Mizintsev's claims were rejected by Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk as "manipulation."^[325]

Shooting of evacuation checkpoints

On 7 March, U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Michael Carpenter, described two incidents that occurred in Mariupol on 5 and 6 March as war crimes. He stated that on both dates, Russian forces bombed agreed-upon evacuation corridors while civilians were trying to use them.^[313]

Maternity and children's hospital bombing

Consequences of the bombing of the children's hospital and maternity hospital in Mariupol, 9 March 2022

On 9 March, after an airstrike damaged a maternity ward and children's hospital, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted that the attack was an "atrocity" along with a video of the building's ruins.^[326] The hospital was destroyed.^[327] Three people were killed, including a young girl and at least 16 were injured; authorities stated that many more patients and hospital staff were buried under rubble from the blast.^[328]

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said that the building was formerly a maternity hospital, and Russia bombed it because it was then occupied by the Azov Regiment.^[329][330]

Later on the same day, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected the hospital bombing as "information terrorism", while Russian Ministry of Defence spokesman Igor Konashenkov called the bombardment staged.^[331]

Then, on the afternoon of 10 March, the Russian Embassy to the UK said in a tweet that two injured pregnant women seen being evacuated after the attack were actually played by actresses wearing "realistic make-up", that the maternity ward was occupied by the Azov Regiment and that no women or children had been present since the facility was "non-operational".^[332] The tweet was later removed by Twitter for violating their rules on disinformation.^[332] Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary for the Russian President, stated soon after the bombing that the Russian government would investigate the incident.

The accusation by Russia then began trending online in Russia, including on Russian Telegram social media, which has hundreds of thousands of followers.^[333] Twitter then took down the embassy's posts.^[333]

The pregnant woman videotaped being carried out wounded on a stretcher (accused by Russia of being an actress) was moved to another hospital and then died on 13 March, after her child was stillborn. She had suffered numerous injuries in the bombing, including a crushed pelvis and detached hip, which contributed to the stillbirth of her child.^[334] Seeing that she had lost her baby, medical workers said that she cried, "Kill me now."^[335] Thirty minutes later, she also died.^[335]

Russian claims that the videos were faked and that the bombed hospital was being used as a military post were debunked by investigative reporters.^[336] On 22 March, Russian journalist Alexander Nevzorov was charged under Russia's "false information" law after he published information about the Russian shelling of a maternity hospital in Mariupol.^[337] Under a new law passed on 4 March, he could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.^[338]

Regional theatre bombing

The Donetsk Regional Drama Theatre was bombed on 16 March

On 16 March, the Donetsk Regional Drama Theatre of the city was struck and largely destroyed by an airstrike.^[316] The Mariupol city council accused Russia of targeting the drama theatre, where at least hundreds of civilians had been sheltering.^[339] Human Rights Watch stated that the theatre was sheltering at least 500 civilians.^[340] Serhiy Taruta, the former governor of Donetsk Oblast, stated that 1,300 were sheltering inside.^[341]

A satellite image taken by Maxar Technologies on 14 March showed that the Russian word for "children" was written in large white letters on the pavement in both the front and the back of the theatre, which would make it clear that civilians were sheltering inside.^[342] Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba claimed that Russia "could not have not known this was a civilian shelter". According to the Verkhovna Rada, it was impossible to start rescue operations at the theatre due to the ongoing shelling.^[343] The city council also stated that access to the shelter in the theatre was blocked by debris.^[344] The Russian Defense Ministry denied attacking the building and accused the Azov Regiment of blowing it up.^[345]

The bomb shelter in the basement, where people had been sheltering, however, was able to resist the attack according to Taruta. Survivors began emerging from the remains of the theatre on 17 March.^[341] More than 130 civilians had been rescued from the basement as of 18 March, according to Ukrainian officials, and rescuers had yet to find any fatalities. The city council stated that no one had died according to initial information, but one person was gravely wounded.^[346]

The Associated Press reported that 600 civilians were killed during the airstrike,^[347] double the official number given by the Ukrainian government.

Mass shelling of residential areas

War damage in Mariupol, 12 March 2022

On 2 March, deputy mayor Sergiy Orlov reported that Russian artillery targeted a densely populated neighborhood of Mariupol, shelling it for nearly 15 hours. He said that one populated residential district on the city's left bank had been "nearly totally destroyed".^[115]

Satellite photos of Mariupol taken the morning of 9 March taken by Maxar Technologies showed "extensive damage" to high-rise apartments, residential homes, grocery stores and other civilian infrastructure. This was determined by comparing before and after photos.^[348] The Mariupol council made a statement that the damage to the city has been "enormous". It estimated that approximately 80% of the city's homes had been significantly damaged, of which almost 30% were beyond repair.^[349] Reporting from Mariupol, Reuters reporter Pavel Klimov said that "all around are the blackened shells" of tower block dwellings.^[350]

On 16 March, BBC News reported that nearly constant Russian attacks had turned residential neighbourhoods into "a wasteland."^[351] On the same day it reported that it had obtained drone footage showing "a vast extent of damage, with fire and smoke billowing out of apartment blocks and blackened streets in ruins."^[351] A city resident told the BBC that "in the left bank area, there's no residential building intact, it's all burned to the ground." The left bank contained a densely populated residential district.^[115] She also said that the city centre is "unrecognisable."^[351] On the same day the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russian forces continued to commit war crimes in Mariupol including "targeting civilian infrastructure."^[352]

On 18 March, Lieutenant General Jim Hockenhull, Chief of Defence Intelligence for the United Kingdom (UK), described "continued targeting of civilians in Mariupol".^[353] Ukrainian authorities stated that about 90% of buildings in Mariupole were now damaged or destroyed.^[317] On the same day, Sky News from the UK described videos as showing "civilian areas left unrecognisable by the bombing."^[317] Sky News also quoted the Red Cross as describing "Apocalyptic destruction in Mariupol."^[317] On 19 March 2022, a Ukrainian police officer in Mariupol made a video in which he said "Children, elderly people are dying. The city is destroyed and it is wiped off the face of the earth." The video was authenticated by the Associated Press.^[354]

The government of Mariupol said on 28 March that 90% of all buildings in Mariupol had been damaged by shelling, with 40% of all structures inside the city destroyed.^[355] The statistics released also counted that 90% of Mariupol's hospitals had been damaged, and that 23 schools and 28 kindergartens had been destroyed by Russian shelling.^[356]

By 18 April, Ukrainian officials estimated that at least 95% of Mariupol had been destroyed in the fighting, largely as a result of the Russian bombing campaigns.^[55]

On 12 April, city officials reported that up to 20,000 civilians had been killed.^[306] On the same day, the Mayor of the city reported that about 21,000 civilians had been killed.^[307]

Alleged use of chemical weapons

On 11 April 2022, Eduard Basurin, a spokesperson for the Donetsk People's Republic, called for Russia to bring "chemical forces" to "smoke out the moles", referring to the Ukrainian forces in the Azovstal.^[357] Later on the same day, the Azov Regiment accused Russian forces of using "a poisonous substance of unknown origin" in Mariupol, causing respiratory problems. A Pentagon spokesperson said the reports were not confirmed, but they reflect concerns about Russia's potential use of chemical agents.^{[358][359][360]} Later, Ukraine stated that it was investigating the allegations. Three Ukrainian soldiers were injured in the incident.^[361]

According to experts, it is too soon to say what exactly had happened,^[362] UK and Ukrainian officials said that they suspected the use of white phosphorus, which is not typically regarded as a chemical weapon in international law.^[359]

Discover more about War crimes committed by Russian forces related topics

Mikhail Mizintsev

Mikhail Mizintsev

Mikhail Yevgenyevich Mizintsev is a Russian colonel general currently serving as the deputy minister of defence of Russia for overseeing logistics since 24 September 2022. Prior to this, he headed the National Defense Management Center of Russia.

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, promotion of human rights, freedom of the press, and free and fair elections. It employs around 3,460 people, mostly in its field operations but also in its secretariat in Vienna, Austria, and its institutions.

Michael R. Carpenter

Michael R. Carpenter

Michael R. Carpenter is an American diplomat serving as United States ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in the Biden administration.

Mariupol hospital airstrike

Mariupol hospital airstrike

On 9 March 2022, the Russian Air Force bombed Maternity Hospital No 3, a hospital complex functioning both as a children's hospital and maternity ward in Mariupol, Ukraine, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, killing at least four people and injuring at least sixteen, and leading to at least one stillbirth.

Maria Zakharova

Maria Zakharova

Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova is the Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation since 2015.

Igor Konashenkov

Igor Konashenkov

Lieutenant General Igor Yevgenyevich Konashenkov is a Russian military officer serving as the chief spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation.

Disinformation

Disinformation

Disinformation is false information deliberately spread to deceive people. It is sometimes confused with misinformation, which is false information but is not deliberate.

Dmitry Peskov

Dmitry Peskov

Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov is a Russian diplomat and the press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Alexander Nevzorov

Alexander Nevzorov

Alexander Glebovich Nevzorov is a Russian television journalist, film director and a former member of the Russian State Duma.

Russian 2022 war censorship laws

Russian 2022 war censorship laws

The Russian 2022 Laws Establishing War Censorship and Prohibiting Anti-War Statements and Calls for Sanctions is a group of federal laws promulgated by the Russian government during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These laws establish administrative and criminal punishments for a dissemination of "unreliable information" about the Russian Armed Forces, other Russian state bodies and their operations, as well as about activity of volunteers and their formations and organizations aimed at assistance in accomplishment of a tasks of the Russian Armed Forces, punishments for a "discrediting" of the Russian Armed Forces, other Russian state bodies, and activity of volunteers and their formations and organizations aimed at assistance in accomplishment of a tasks of the Russian Armed Forces, and punishments for a calls for sanctions against Russia, Russian organizations and citizens. These laws are a further extension of Russian fake news laws. The adoption of these laws caused the mass exodus of foreign media from Russia and the termination of the activity of independent Russian media.

Mariupol theatre airstrike

Mariupol theatre airstrike

On 16 March 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Armed Forces bombed the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theatre in Mariupol, Ukraine. It was used as an air raid shelter during the siege of Mariupol, sheltering a large number of civilians. Estimates of civilian deaths vary, ranging from at least a dozen to 600.

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization headquartered in New York City that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policymakers, companies, and individual human rights abusers to denounce abuse and respect human rights, and often works on behalf of refugees, children, migrants, and political prisoners.

Associated Press staff member Mstyslav Chernov and freelancer Evgeniy Maloletka, working for AP, stayed in Mariupol from late February until 11 March. They were among the few journalists, and, according to the AP, the only international journalists in Mariupol during that period, and their photographs were extensively used by Western media to cover the siege and the situation in the city.^[363] According to Chernov, on 11 March, they were in a hospital taking photos, when they were evacuated from the city with the assistance of Ukrainian soldiers. They managed to escape from Mariupol unharmed, at which point, he said, no journalists were left in the city.^[364]

Testimonies from the Azovstal steel plant were made available via the Starlink satellite connections system.^[365]

Reporting in the state-controlled media in Russia presented the invasion as a liberation mission and accused Ukrainian troops of attacking civilian targets in Mariupol.^[366][367] In March 2023, during a visit to the city by president Putin, Marat Khusnullin assured that Russian forces did not use artillery fire against residential buildings during their advance on Mariupol, while accusing Ukrainian forces of destruction during their retreat.^[368] Previously, a number of videos from during the siege, showed Russian tanks firing at residential buildings.^[369][370] On the same day as Putin talked to Khusnullin, Russian Izvestya published an interview with a commander of a Russian 2S4 "Tyulpan" mortar battery who described that their mortars were so powerful that they were able to collapse nine-story multi-apartment blocks specifically during the siege of Mariupol.^[371]

The Guardian observed in a piece on Mariupol published after the Russian attack on the Mariupol maternity ward that "Entire settlements reduced to rubble, attacks on civilian targets and the bombing of refugee exit routes were all part of Moscow’s brutal Syria campaign",^[372] while the Washington Post under the headline "Russia’s Ukraine war builds on tactics it used in Syria, experts say" related the effects on the civilian population as "dwindling food supplies. No electricity or water. Russian tanks roaming the streets. Nights punctuated by shelling." Ukrainian officials warned that this battle risked "becoming a second Aleppo." The Syria Civil Defense team said "They want to empty those cities of their population, so it will be less costly for Russia to take over," and indeed some estimates were that 75% of Mariupol’s population had left by 31 March.^[373]

Discover more about Media coverage related topics

Associated Press

Associated Press

The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspapers and broadcasters. Since the award was established in 1917, the AP has earned 56 Pulitzer Prizes, including 34 for photography. It is also known for publishing the widely used AP Stylebook.

Mstyslav Chernov

Mstyslav Chernov

Mstyslav Chernov is a Ukrainian videographer, photographer, photojournalist, filmmaker, war correspondent and novelist known for his coverage of the Revolution of Dignity, War in Donbas, including the downing of flight MH17, Syrian civil war, Battle of Mosul in Iraq, the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, including the Siege of Mariupol as well as for his diverse photography exhibitions. Film won Audience Award in World Cinema Documentary category Chernov is an Associated Press journalist and the President of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers (UAPF). Chernov's materials have been published and aired by multiple news outlets worldwide, including CNN, BBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others. He has both won and been a finalist for prestigious awards, including the Livingston Award, Rory Peck Award, Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Prize, and various Royal Television Society awards. Chernov has been wounded several times while working in war. He has been a member of "Ukrainian PEN" since July 2022.

Evgeniy Maloletka

Evgeniy Maloletka

Evgeniy Maloletka is a Ukrainian journalist and photographer. He covered the siege of Mariupol during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and, in particular, made a photograph of a woman wounded as a result of the maternity hospital bombing, considered to be iconic.

Starlink

Starlink

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX, providing satellite Internet access coverage to 50 countries. It also aims for global mobile phone service after 2023. SpaceX started launching Starlink satellites in 2019. As of February 2023, Starlink consists of over 3,580 mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), which communicate with designated ground transceivers. In total, nearly 12,000 satellites are planned to be deployed, with a possible later extension to 42,000. SpaceX announced reaching more than one million subscribers in December 2022.

Disinformation in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Disinformation in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the media of both sides, both Russian and Ukrainian, waged an information war and actively spread disinformation. Disinformation has been distributed by governmental agencies and web brigades of the Russian Federation, the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) separatist areas of Ukraine in relation to the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis and the subsequent Russian invasion. Russian disinformation and fake news stories have focused on themes such as false flags claims of Ukrainian and NATO aggression, claims of human rights violations and even genocide carried out by Ukrainians on Russian speakers, claims that NATO and Ukraine develop biological weapons targeted at Russia, and claims of widespread local populace support for the Russian "liberation". Some of the disinformation has been aimed at promoting hostility towards Ukrainian refugees, intending to weaken international support for Ukraine.

Mass media in Russia

Mass media in Russia

Television, magazines, and newspapers have all been operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues. Even though the Constitution of Russia guarantees freedom of speech the press has been plagued by both government censorship and self-censorship.

Marat Khusnullin

Marat Khusnullin

Marat Shakirzyanovich Khusnullin is a Russian Tatar politician serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Russia for Construction and Regional Development since 2020. He previously served as Deputy Mayor of Moscow from 2010 to 2020.

Izvestia

Izvestia

Izvestia is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Russia. Founded in 1917, Izvestia, which covered foreign relations, was the organ of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, disseminating official state propaganda. It is now described as a "national newspaper" of Russia.

2S4 Tyulpan

2S4 Tyulpan

The 2S4 Tyulpan is a Soviet 240 mm self-propelled heavy mortar. "2S4" is its GRAU designation. The Tyulpan is the largest mortar system in use today.

Mariupol hospital airstrike

Mariupol hospital airstrike

On 9 March 2022, the Russian Air Force bombed Maternity Hospital No 3, a hospital complex functioning both as a children's hospital and maternity ward in Mariupol, Ukraine, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, killing at least four people and injuring at least sixteen, and leading to at least one stillbirth.

Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war

Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war

The Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war began in September 2015, after a request by the Syrian government for military aid against rebel and jihadist groups. The intervention initially involved air strikes by Russian aircraft from the Khmeimim base against targets primarily in north-western Syria, and against Syrian opposition militant groups opposed to the Syrian government, including the Free Syrian Army, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), al-Nusra Front and the Army of Conquest. Russian special operations forces, military advisors and private military contractors like the Wagner Group were also sent to Syria to support the Assad regime, which was on the verge of collapse. Prior to the intervention, Russian involvement in the Syrian Civil War had mainly consisted of supplying the Syrian Army with arms and equipment. At the end of December 2017, the Russian government announced that its troops would be deployed to Syria permanently.

Aleppo offensive (November–December 2016)

Aleppo offensive (November–December 2016)

The Aleppo offensive , code named Operation Dawn of Victory by government forces, was a successful military offensive launched by the Syrian Armed Forces and allied groups against rebel-held districts in Aleppo. The offensive came after the end of the moratorium on air strikes by Russia, and the Russian Armed Forces again conducted heavy air and cruise missile strikes against rebel positions throughout northwestern Syria. The offensive resulted in government forces taking control of all rebel-controlled parts of eastern and southern Aleppo, and the evacuation of the remaining rebel forces.