Shocking new images have revealed the extent of the carnage in the city of Mariupol, which has been bombed continuously for two months while Russia invaded Ukraine.
The southern port city, which Putin sees as a key strategic position in the eastern Donbass region on the Sea of Azov, has been under siege for more than eight weeks as Russian forces launched round-the-clock bombing and indiscriminate rocket attacks on military, administrative and civilian targets alike.
Now that the war is well into its ninth week, the once-bustling coastal metropolis, with a pre-war population of around 450,000, has been largely reduced to rubble under Putin’s wrath, and not a single row of houses seems to have survived the attack unscathed or at least some damage.
According to Mayor Vadym Boychenko, more than 90 percent of the city’s infrastructure was severely damaged, while 45 percent of it was completely destroyed.
Today only 100,000 people live in the bombed ruins. More than three-quarters of the pre-war population fled, and tens of thousands are believed to have died, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Satellite images released yesterday by Maxar Technologies of the city center show the true extent of the destruction.
Whole blocks of houses have been completely decimated, while the Donetsk Regional Theater, which once sheltered around 400 Ukrainian civilians until it was directly attacked by Russian missiles, has collapsed completely.
Other images showed rows of what appeared to be freshly dug mass graves along a cemetery on the outskirts of the city, as well as the dilapidated facade of the Azovstal Steel Works in the port of Mariupol.
The factory remains the only part of the city not under full Russian control, and its network of underground rooms and tunnels forms the last stronghold of a small contingent of Ukrainian fighters, along with about 1,000 civilians seeking shelter from Putin’s bombs.
The first image captured by Google Earth shows the area around the Donetsk Regional Theater in Mariupol before the start of the war in Ukraine. The second image, released by Maxar Technologies on April 30, 2022, shows the same area completely destroyed after eight weeks of Russian bombing. The theater in the center acted as an air raid shelter for hundreds until it was the target of a direct attack
This satellite image released on April 30, 2022 by Maxar Technologies shows several street blocks with destroyed buildings in Mariupol on the Azov Sea on April 29, 2022 amid the Russian military invasion of Ukraine
This April 30, 2022 image released by Maxar Technologies shows the Azovstal Steel Plant, the city’s last stronghold, where up to 1,000 civilians are sheltering alongside Ukrainian troops. Russia has constantly bombed the plant, causing surface damage, but the Ukrainians are hiding in a deep network of underground tunnels
This image appears to show a large patch of freshly dug mass graves at Vynohradne Cemetery near Mariupol on April 29, 2022. According to Ukrainian authorities, tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in Mariupol over the past eight weeks
Russia continued its brutal bombardment of Mariupol yesterday, even as a small battalion of Ukrainian fighters tried to evacuate a small group of desperate civilians from the Azovstal Steel Plant.
Putin’s forces now control the overwhelming majority of the city, concentrating their airstrikes mainly on the Soviet-era steelworks near the port, where a contingent of 1,000 to 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers is putting up a desperate resistance alongside about 1,000 civilians.
Commanders of the soldiers hiding in the tunnels and rooms beneath the facility have repeatedly appealed for international assistance and safe passage for evacuation, stating that the facility’s residents are struggling with extremely limited food and water and that there are many injured soldiers and civilians are suffering without proper medical care.
United Nations humanitarian spokesman Saviano Abreu said yesterday the world body was negotiating with authorities in Moscow and Kyiv to organize a ceasefire.
“Right now, high-level talks are ongoing with all governments, Russia and Ukraine to ensure civilians can be rescued and assist in the evacuation of civilians from the facility,” Abreu said.
However, the spokesman could not provide details on ongoing evacuation efforts “due to the complexity and fluidity of the operation.”
Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly attempted to evacuate civilians from the worst-hit areas in Mariupol via “humanitarian corridors” during a pre-arranged period of typically a few hours, during which both sides agreed not to launch strikes.
But – Officials say Russia routinely breaks the ceasefire and carries out attacks on the corridors, killing civilians and ending rescue operations early every time evacuations begin.
Russia’s attacks are now focused on the Soviet-era steelworks (pictured) near the port – the only part of the city that is not occupied – where a small contingent of 1,000 to 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers alongside about 1,000 are putting up a desperate resistance civilians
Russian soldiers guard the territory of the Mariupol cargo seaport. Russia has continued its brutal bombardment of the southern port city, where a small battalion of Ukrainian fighters is trying to evacuate desperate civilians from the Azovstal Steel Plant
Smoke rises from the site of the Azovstal Steel Plant in the city of Mariupol April 29, 2022 amid ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine
People attend a rally calling on international leaders to organize a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of Ukrainian military and civilians from Mariupol amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine, April 30, 2022
The fierceness of the fighting and the plight of the civilians hiding at the Azovstal factory stunned the world and brought Pentagon press secretary John Kirby to tears on Friday.
“It’s hard to see what [Putin] is doing in Ukraine what its forces are doing in Ukraine and thinks any ethical, moral person could justify it,” Kirby, a retired rear admiral, told reporters.
“It’s difficult to look at some of the images and imagine that any thoughtful, serious, mature leader would do that. So I can’t talk to his psychology. But I think we can all talk about his depravity.’
A vast underground network of tunnels and bunkers has provided relative protection from air raids for civilians and militants hiding in the steelworks.
But the situation has gotten worse in recent days after the Russians dropped “bunker busters” and other bombs on the plant, Mayor Boychenko said on Friday.
People hold banners during a demonstration in support of Mariupol defenders April 30, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine
Women whose husbands are trapped at the facility with the Azov regiment said they feared soldiers would be tortured and killed if left behind and captured.
Yesterday, a commander of the Azov battalion locked inside the steel factory said some civilians were successfully evacuated from the plant after a ceasefire planned for 6 a.m. local time finally began at 11 a.m.
Captain Svyatoslav Palamar, the deputy commander of the Azov regiment, said 20 civilians had been evacuated and were now on their way to the Ukrainian-controlled area in Zaporizhia after waiting 12 hours.
“Since 6 a.m. we have been waiting for the arrival of the evacuation convoy, which only arrived at 6:25 p.m.,” Palamar said in a video statement posted online.
“We brought 20 civilians to the agreed meeting point, which we were able to rescue from under the rubble. These are women and children. We hope that these people will reach the agreed destination, namely Zaporizhia, the territory controlled by Ukraine.”
Palamar continued: “So far the rescue operation being carried out by the Azov soldiers is ongoing – we are rescuing the civilians under the rubble.
“These are women, children and the elderly,” he repeated, before imploring Russian troops to honor further ceasefire agreements.
“We hope that this process will be further expanded and that we will successfully evacuate all civilians,” he said.