Mariupol Mayor: Putin is Responsible for the Massacre of Thousands of Civilians

The port of Mariupol and surrounding areas have been besieged by Russian forces since the first days of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24.

The Mariupol City Council, on Thursday evening, April 21, accused Russia of genocide against civilians through a statement by Vadym Boychenko, the mayor of the city, on its Telegram channel, and called on the international community to respond to this crime.

Ukrainian sources estimate that up to 9,000 civilians may be buried in mass graves in the town of Manhush near this port.

In satellite images published in Ukrainian media, whose authenticity has not yet been confirmed by independent sources, several mass graves are visible approximately 20 kilometers west of Mariupol, with their numbers increasing from the end of March onward.

Comparison of Civilian Killings with Nazi Actions

The mayor of Mariupol compared the killing of civilians in the town of Manhush to massacres committed by German Nazis during World War II in the “Babyn Yar” area near Kyiv.

Vadym Boychenko called the town of Manhush a “new Babyn Yar” (Babyn Jar) and said that at that time Hitler eliminated Jews, Slavs, and Roma, and now Vladimir Putin is exterminating Ukrainians. He accused the Russian president of carrying out a massacre of tens of thousands of civilians in Mariupol as well.

The mayor of Mariupol, referring to events that occurred after the siege and occupation of the region, called for “decisive action” by the international community to stop what he called the continuation of this “genocide” by any possible means.

According to a report by “Tagesschau,” the website of German television’s Channel One, Ukrainian media have compared the mass graves in the town of Manhush with similar examples discovered in the Kyiv area after Russian soldiers withdrew.

Based on photographs, videos, and reports from the Kyiv area, including the town of Bucha, it apparently Russian soldiers killed a large number of civilian residents before withdrawing and buried their bodies in mass graves.

Russia has denied involvement in the killings of civilians in the Kyiv area and claimed that the published images are staged and that accusations of war crimes against Russian soldiers are baseless.

Boychenko accused Russian soldiers of collecting the bodies of civilian victims from the streets of the port city of Mariupol and transporting them by truck to mass graves dug around the town of Manhush to hide their crimes.

Zelenskyy: Resistance in Mariupol Continues

Russia claims it has fully captured the port of Mariupol, with only a few hundred people remaining in a steel plant who are completely besieged.

The mayor of Mariupol says there are still around 100,000 people in the city and emphasizes that it is important to understand that the fate and lives of these people depend solely on one person, Vladimir Putin.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, said in his latest video message that contrary to all claims by the “occupiers,” resistance against Russian forces in Mariupol continues.

Putin announced Thursday morning that the complete capture of Mariupol was complete. Russian sources said approximately 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers and foreign forces remain in the steel plant.

The Russian president ordered the plant, to which Ukrainian military and some civilians have taken shelter, to be completely surrounded and demanded that soldiers lay down their weapons and surrender.