The mayor of Mariupol said that Ukrainian forces in the city would continue to fight, despite their lack of ammunition and their considerable superiority.
Vadim Boychenko said: “Our heroic defenders are fighting, enduring with incredible valor and courage, defending the city of Mariupol, defending our future and our homeland Ukraine.
“This must be clarified very clearly, their situation is very difficult because they are significantly superior. It is very difficult for them to endure. When they say that they are made of steel, we must also know that steel also has its breaking points, but they last and the city of Mariupol remains a Ukrainian city, “the mayor added.
His words came when Russian state media released photos that allegedly showed that some Ukrainian soldiers were surrendering.
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0:23 Ukrainian soldiers “surrender” in Mariupol
Sky News found the video in the city, but could not verify when it was filmed or whether it was a real show.
A spokesman for the Russian military said: “In Mariupol, near the Ilyich steel plant, as a result of successful offensive by Russian troops and militias of the Donetsk People’s Republic, 1,026 Ukrainian servicemen from the 36th Marine Brigade voluntarily laid down their arms and surrendered. . “
Mariupol, in the far southeast of Ukraine, has been subjected to almost constant bombing since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
It is a key port city and is emerging as a tenacious but vital strategic reward for Russia.
Image: Mariupol Mayor Vadim Boychenko says 90% of the city’s infrastructure has been destroyed by the Russian Federation
The mayor released stunning and still unlimited information on the number of dead.
“90% of the infrastructure has been destroyed by the Russian Federation,” the mayor said.
“Hospitals were bombed, bomb shelters were bombed, innocent civilians were killed in Mariupol. 21,000+ is the death toll in Mariupol. These are the victims of the bombing. “
The last war in Ukraine: “Mariupol will fall in hours”
Image: Russian soldiers patrol the theater in Mariupol, which was bombed in an alleged Russian air strike on March 16
Because the city is largely blocked, even the large number of victims is difficult to verify, but from satellite images the city resembles the urban wastelands that the Russians left behind in Aleppo, Syria and Grozny, Chechnya before.
It is still unclear about the allegations of the use of chemical weapons here.
“Yesterday (Monday) Russian troops tried to hit our city with a chemical attack, tried to launch a chemical agent on our defenders, the agent affected our defenders, several people on the outskirts of Mariupol were also affected, tasted the sweet taste in their mouths,” claims the mayor.
Image: An elderly woman is sitting in front of a badly damaged building in Mariupol
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky did not repeat the statement, but repeated the statement that the Russians use phosphorus.
The substance is not illegal under international law, as long as it is used in a battlefield scenario away from civilians.
In a separate statement, Mayor Boychenko said the Russians were using mobile crematoria to dispose of the bodies.
“Our intelligence has confirmed that crematorium teams have arrived in the city and are preparing to eliminate evidence of war crimes committed by the Russian Federation. he said.
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This statement followed the publication of a photo by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, which, according to them, shows a mobile crematorium in a truck.
Sky News was unable to confirm the image.
Image: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense shared this image, claiming it shows a mobile crematorium in a truck
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine stated: “13 mobile crematoria were used to clean the streets of the bodies of dead civilians … Also, the Russian armed forces use mobile crematoria to destroy the bodies of Russian soldiers to hide the real number of their soldiers who died in the Russian aggression … “
Read more: What can we expect from the new Russian commander in charge of the invasion
With the Russians completely withdrawn from the area around Kyiv, Moscow’s new commanding general, a veteran of Syria and Chechnya, is consolidating command and troop numbers here in the Far East.
The last hardships in the battle for Mariupol seem inevitable.
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