EPACopyright: EPA
The mayor of Mariupol says Russian President Vladimir Putin is determing who lives, who leaves and who dies in the city.
Vadym Boichenko told the BBC that the 100,000 people still living in the besieged port city need a permit to move around – and a separate permit to leave.
Mr Boichenko also claims that around 2,000 men are being held in so-called “filtration centres” in Bezymenne and Kozatske, and not being allowed to return to their homes unless they are sick or injured.
“They are being used as labour to clear the rubble, collect the dead bodies of those the Russians have killed, and cover up evidence of war crimes,” he says.
The BBC has not independently verified these claims.
Capturing Mariupol – now dominated by Russian forces, aside from the Azovstal steelworks – will allow the Russians to complete a land bridge between Crimea and the Donbas region, as well as giving them full control of more than 80% of Ukraine’s Black Sea coastline.
But in their quest to do so, they have pummelled Mariupol with artillery, rockets and missiles – damaging or destroying more than 90% of the city.
Once a thriving port with a promising future, Mr Boichenko shares a thick booklet of plans compiled last year for Mariupol. It’s full of glossy images of parks, pavement cafes, universities and schools.
“I worked there for seven years, putting my heart and soul into it, ” he tells the BBC.
“My home is there, my parents’ home is there. They took everything away from us, “ he says. “My heart and soul are gone.”
