How streets of Mariupol are being turned into cemeteries
How streets of Mariupol are being turned into cemeteries: Makeshift graves appear across the besieged port city as victims are buried under rubble with relatives unable to retrieve bodies due to heavy Russian shelling
- WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
- Bodies of civilians and soldiers are buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings or left out on the streets
- Rescuers are unable to retrieve victims due to incessant Russian shelling and street fighting in city centre
- It comes as the UN says that it has received more information regarding mass graves of up to 200 bodies
- Residents also pictured digging roadside graves opposite defaced buildings to bury own neighbours
- Those that survive bombing attacks are having to persevere without medical supplies, electricity and water
The streets of Mariupol are being turned into cemeteries with makeshift graves appearing across the besieged port city.
Bodies of both civilians and soldiers are becoming buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings or left out on the streets with rescuers unable to retrieve victims and give them a proper burial due to the incessant bombing.
It comes as the UN said on Friday that it had received more information regarding mass graves in the city – one of which is thought to hold up to 200 bodies.
Earlier this month, graphic images showed mortuary workers digging 25-metre trenches at one of the old cemeteries in Mariupol, and making the sign of the cross as they pushed dead bodies wrapped in carpet or bags over the edge.
Residents have also had to dig roadside graves opposite defaced residential buildings, with those not killed by the shelling having to endure a shortage of medical supplies, water and electricity.
Mariupol has seen some of the most intense fighting since Putin ordered his armies into Ukraine on February 24 as part of what the Russian strongman branded a ‘special military operation’.
Russian forces have been shelling the city indiscriminately, razing large swathes of the city.
More than 1,200 civilians are thought to have been killed as Moscow has been ‘terrorising’ the captive population with increasingly brutal attacks.
It includes around 300 people thought to have died when a devastating Russian airstrike destroyed a theatre being used as temporary refuge.
Matilda Bogner, head of the UN human rights team, said it had ‘increasing information on mass graves that are there’.
The streets of the besieged city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine have been turned into a cemetery because of incessant Russian bombing attacks
Multiple graves are surrounded by debris following Russian shelling. It comes as the UN says it has information relating to mass burial sites in the city, one of which contains up to 200 bodies
A woman touches the grave in the southern port city of Mariupol. More than 1,000 civilians are thought to have been killed during the conflict
A woman walks past graves of residents killed by shelling during the conflict. The city’s mayor says street fighting has been taking place in the city centre
A woman places flowers at the graves of residents killed in shelling on Wednesday. It comes as diplomatic efforts are ongoing to evacuate refugees from the city
Dead bodies are placed into a mass grave on the outskirts of Mariupol earlier this month as people cannot bury their dead due to the heavy shelling
A collapsed building is pictured as civilians are being evacuated along humanitarian corridors from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Saturday
A wrecked tank in the city of Mariupol as civilians try to make their way out of the area to safety from the threat of bombing attacks
Graves of residents killed by shelling during Russia’s invasion pictured in a yard in the southern port city of Mariupol
A wrecked tank is seen near a damaged building as civilians are being evacuated along humanitarian corridors from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Saturday
Dead bodies are put into a mass grave on the outskirts of Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 9 following heavy shelling from Russian forces
She did not elaborate further on the evidence, adding that it was not clear whether the dead were soldiers or civilians.
The extent of the shelling is making it increasingly difficult to verify the number of victims, with bodies having to be left out in the streets.
She added: ‘The extent of civilian casualties and the extent of damage raises serious concerns and suggests strongly there have been violations of international humanitarian law and in particular of indiscriminate attacks.’
It comes as a group of Chechen fighters have been seen on video wildly firing heavy machine guns towards residential buildings in the city.
The video, shared by Kremlin-allied Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, also showed the Chechen soldiers seemingly celebrating as the camera panned to show the hollowed-out shells of destroyed apartment blocks.
The soldiers, dressed in camouflaged military gear, pumped their fists to the camera and could be heard shouting ‘allahu akbar’.
On his Telegram channel, Kadyrov claimed his fighters were clearing ‘the territory of the Nazis’ – parroting a line used by Russian president Vladimir Putin and his propaganda machine to justify the invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Mariupol’s mayor Vadym Boichenko has said the situation in the city remains critical, with street fighting taking place in its centre.
Mr Boichenko added that he has spoken with France’s ambassador to Ukraine about options for evacuating civilians after Emmanual Macron said he would propose to Russia a plan to help people leave the encircled city.
In what could see NATO soldiers on the ground in Ukraine for the first time since the start of the war, Macron announced a bold plan with Turkey and Greece to evacuate ‘all those who wish to leave Mariupol’, adding he would discuss it with Putin soon.
However, diplomatic tensions have risen after US President Jo Biden has been slammed for his ‘unscripted’ declaration that Putin ‘cannot remain in power’.
The remark, which the White House scrambled to walk back as the Kremlin expressed fury, came at the end of an otherwise resolute and fiery speech rallying the free world to unite in opposition to autocracy and support of Ukraine.
Biden’s remark could also diminish Putin’s interest in compromise and increase his temptation to escalate in Ukraine, ‘because if he believes he has everything to lose then he’ll believe he has nothing to lose,’ Haass said.
Before Biden could even board Air Force One to begin the flight back to Washington, his aides were rushing to claim that he hadn’t been calling for an immediate change in government in Moscow.
Russian troops are trying to encircle Ukrainian forces fighting in the separatist regions in the eastern part of the country, British intelligence chiefs said, as Russia continues its attacks on Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin’s forces are advancing southward from the area around the city of Kharkiv and north from the port city of Mariupol to the Donbas region in an attempt to surround Ukrainian troops, the Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence briefing today.
A view of the destruction of the city of besieged Mariupol in Ukraine on Saturday, March 26, amid mounting evidence of mass graves around the city
‘The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change,’ a White House official said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quickly denounced Biden, saying ‘it’s not up to the president of the U.S. and not up to the Americans to decide who will remain in power in Russia.’
Putin’s forces are understood to be advancing southward from the area around the city of Kharkiv and north from Mariupol to the Donbas region in an attempt to surround Ukrainian troops, the Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence briefing today.
But in a further blow to the barbaric invasion, Ukrainian forces repulsed seven attacks in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and destroyed several tanks and armoured vehicles, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said on Sunday.
Ukraine’s military chiefs say Russia is continuing with its ‘full-scale armed aggression’, with rocket attacks being launched on Ukrainian cities overnight.
Russian missiles struck Ukrainian fuel and food storage depots in the city of Lviv, sparking huge fires and wounding at least five people.
But President Volodymyr Zelensky has begged the West to give Ukraine tanks, planes and missiles to fend off Russian forces, as he accused NATO leaders of holding back on supplies because of ‘intimidation’ from Moscow.
Zelensky demanded that Western nations hand over military hardware that was ‘gathering dust’ in stockpiles, saying Ukraine needed just one per cent of NATO’s aircraft and one per cent of its tanks.
NATO leaders have so far given Ukraine anti-tank and anti-craft missiles as well as small arms and protective equipment, but have not offered any heavy armour or planes.
Zelensky accused the West of holding back on supplies because they were frightened of Russia and suggested Moscow is in charge of NATO in a late-night address on Saturday.
Source: Read Full Article
