Connexion
Russia planned to destroy Mariupol before 2022 — first public evidence emerges
Russia deliberately destroyed Mariupol. The Center for the Study of Occupation has released the first direct evidence that Moscow was preparing to seize the Ukrainian city long before the full-scale invasion began.
Mariupol has become a symbol of Russian war crimes and barbarism. After the full-scale invasion began, Russian forces destroyed 90% of the city. Activists and researchers say that 120,000 people may have been killed in the city out of 422,000. The exact number is still unknown. Many people died under rubble without any help, and the elderly took their own lives, realizing no medication or food would come.
According to Petro Andriushchenko, the head of the organization, in 2019, Russia officially developed and published a project for a “transport and transit hub” on the territory of Mariupol.
This confirms that the occupation and destruction of the city were not a chaotic result of warfare, but part of a premeditated plan.
The project in question already listed Mariupol as part of the Russian-controlled illegal entity located in Donetsk Oblast territory. The documentation outlined the creation of an infrastructure hub in the Zhovtnevyi and Prymorskyi districts, south of the historic center, with specific geographic boundaries: from Pushkin and Kotovsky streets to the shoreline of the Taganrog Bay.
Two Russian institutions, the Arena Institute and the Unified Institute for Spatial Planning of the Russian Federation, which is responsible for urban policy in occupied territories, prepared the project.
“This is the first public proof of preparations for the complete destruction of Mariupol prior to the full-scale invasion,” Andriushchenko emphasizes.
Earlier, Zaur Gurtsiyev, deputy mayor of Stavropol and former commander of the air operation over Mariupol, was killed in a grenade explosion that occurred overnight on 29 May. The explosion reportedly occurred in southern Russia’s Stavropol city near a residential building.
He was awarded multiple Russian state honors, including an order for his role in the occupation of Mariupol.
Grenade explosion kills Russian commander behind 2022 Mariupol deadly airstrikes
Read also:
- Putin calls to congratulate Trump on his birthday — then launches hypersonic missiles on small Ukrainian city in one of largest attacks of war
- War diary: “Terrified of what He saw, God has left Mariupol, my neighbor said”
You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this.
We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society.
A little bit goes a long way: for as little as the cost of one cup of coffee a month, you can help build bridges between Ukraine and the rest of the world, plus become a co-creator and vote for topics we should cover next.
Become a patron or see other ways to support.
