Mayor Expects Full Evacuation Of Residents From Mariupol

JAKARTA - The mayor of Mariupol issued a new call on Friday for a full evacuation of the southern Ukrainian city, after President Putin claimed Russian troops were in control of the city.

Two months into Russian attack and bombardment, Mariupol was still able to hold on and provide resistance, with the Azovstal steelworks site being the last stronghold for soldiers and citizens to take refuge.

"We only need one thing, a full evacuation of the population. About 100,000 people still live in Mariupol," Mayor Vadym Boichenko said on national television.

Boichenko, who is no longer in Mariupol, did not provide updates on any fighting in or around the city on the Sea of Azov.

But he said, without providing details, that Russian troops' mockery of those remaining in Mariupol continued.

Under heavy bombardment, residents who had not fled during the nearly two months of siege and fighting suffered without electricity, heating or water. He also said tens of thousands of residents had died. The figure could not be verified.

Earlier, Boichenko said the fate of the 100,000 civilians still trapped in the city of Mariupol was in the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He also said satellite images of the mass grave site were evidence that Russia was burying bodies to try to hide the bodies of those killed in Mariupol. Russia denies targeting civilians.

President Putin on Thursday said Russian troops had "liberated" Mariupol, which would make it the largest city to fall into Russian hands, since the start of what Moscow called a "special military operation" without targeting civilians.

Putin said on Thursday Russian troops had "liberated" Mariupol, which would make it the biggest city to fall into Russian hands since the start of what Moscow called a "special military operation". Read more

But a contingent of Ukrainian fighters is still holding out in the underground bunkers of the Azovstal steel complex, along with hundreds of civilians in desperate conditions, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Yesterday President Vladimir Putin said Russian troops had 'liberated' Mariupol, which would make it the largest city to fall into Russian hands, since the start of what Moscow calls a 'special military operation' without targeting civilians.

"There is no plan to liberate the city. It is a plan of destruction," Boichenko said. He estimates that 90% of the southeastern port city has been damaged or destroyed since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Separately, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Ukraine did not seek to establish humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from Ukrainian cities on Friday.

"Due to the dangers on the route today, April 22, there will be no humanitarian corridors," he wrote on Facebook.