The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

War victims in Mariupol: roadside burials

2022-03-22T10:58:19.759Z


In the basements of Mariupol, people seek shelter from Russian attacks. But what to do with the dead? Some residents bury deceased neighbors right next to the street. Impressions from a city on the brink.


AreaRead the video transcript expand here

Right on the side of the road, these residents of Mariupol are digging a grave for their deceased neighbors.

They don't have anything else to do at the moment.

Andrei, factory worker: »I hope there will be another burial.

The army told us to take the bodies out in the cold.

The only cold places now are the basements.

But there are living people there, putting the dead there… so we bury them here.”

At least 2,300 people are said to have died in Mariupol so far in the war.

Around 350,000 people are holding out in the besieged city.

They still lack water, food, electricity and heat.

The lack of medical care is also fatal.

Andrei, factory worker: »The day before yesterday we buried my 45-year-old neighbor.

He must have had a stroke or a blood clot, he stood up and fell over.

Everything is happening at the same time now, it's very stressful, the man just died.

We buried him the day before yesterday and his mother died today, she was a little over 70 years old.

She was worried, had heart problems and died.

My neighbor, Uncle Valera, also died.

They all lived in the same hallway with us.

They were not killed by artillery shells, but by the aftermath of military action during the war.

They weren't killed by the bombs, but by the situation in the basement without moving, a great strain in the cold."

The Mariupol city administration wrote on Telegram that several thousand residents had been brought to Russia against their will.

Because parts of the city are controlled by the Russian army, lines of communication with relatives and with one's own home are cut off.

Natalya, educator:

»I can't go to my apartment.

I live on the left bank of the river, I don't know if my apartment still exists.

I came here to work and I can't leave.

I came here on February 24th and am now living in my children's apartment.

I don't know what's happening on the left bank.

My younger daughter lives in the highly competitive center with her young child who is one year and seven months old.

We receive no messages, no information.

Everything is broken, you can see it yourself, no apartment has remained intact.

Everything is broken, we don't know how to go on living.«

Russia is trying to break the residents of the strategically important Mariupol with a tactic of attrition.

However, the Ukrainian government on Monday rejected the Russian demand for the city to be abandoned and for the arms to be laid down.

And the civilian population continues to fight for survival.

Irina Chernenko, librarian:

»We've been in the basement for eleven days.

This is the 25th day of the war, we counted every one of them.

We hope for the best that we can live like humans.

Our apartment, everything is broken, where could we leave this basement?

We cook over a small fire, we still have food and some firewood.

In a week we will have nothing, no more food.

What are we supposed to do?”

Life in Mariupol goes on - under catastrophic conditions.

According to Ukrainian information, Russia again promised humanitarian corridors out of the city on Saturday.

But just a few hours earlier, an art school where about 400 people were hiding was shelled.

The number of victims is still unclear.

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-03-22

You may like

News/Politics 2024-01-30T15:31:17.743Z
News/Politics 2024-03-15T13:05:48.118Z

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.