The
"new mayor"
proclaimed by pro-Russian forces in Mariupol announced Thursday that
"about 5,000 people"
had died among the civilian population of this Ukrainian city, besieged for weeks by the Russian army and its separatist allies.
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"About 60 to 70% of the housing stock has been destroyed or partially destroyed
," added, quoted by the Russian agency TASS, Konstantin Ivashchenko, appointed head of the city on Wednesday by Denis Pushilin, leader of the Donetsk separatists.
He also estimated that 250,000 people had left the city but that at least as many, possibly 300,000 remained behind.
These quotes are excerpts from an interview that TASS announced was published on Friday.
The Ukrainian authorities had put forward
“cautious”
estimates of 5,000 dead, while indicating that there could be
“tens of thousands of civilian victims”
and that the city is “90% destroyed
”.
The Russian military and its separatist allies have been besieging Mariupol for weeks and face fierce Ukrainian resistance.
The humanitarian situation there is catastrophic, according to both sides, and the city is largely in ruins.
