Russia accused of destroying 400 apartment blocks in Mariupol to hide war crimes
Russian forces have destroyed hundreds of apartment blocks throughout occupied Mariupol in order to hide their war crimes according to the city’s Ukranian mayor.
“For two months… they destroyed every second high-rise building,” Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said during an interview with Ukrainform. Before the invasion of Ukraine, and Mariupol’s brutal months-long siege at the hands of Russian forces, the city had 1800 apartment complexes according to Boychenko.
Boychenko noted that Russia claimed 934 of Mariupol’s former apartment complexes were destroyed and he asserted that the remains of those buildings were being cleaned up in order to hide evidence of Russia’s war crimes in the city.
“They have already removed 400 such buildings,” Boychenko told Ukrainform, adding that the Russians “have hidden their war crimes.”
“They work day and night,” Boychenko said, “because they understand that we are already approaching, that we will regain the city, that there will be a counteroffensive.”
“And they prepare for this and clear away their war crimes… it is necessary to understand that 50% of the city no longer exists, unfortunately,” Boychenko concluded.
Deciphering the truth in Boychenko’s claim can be difficult. Unkrainform is Ukraine’s national news agency and riling up anger over Mariupol is a good propaganda tool.
Yet, there is evidence that Russia has been hard at work cleaning up a destroyed Mariupol, and what they’ve done speaks volumes about the changes being made.
