Reuters confirmed the widespread devastation in Mariupol, but could not verify the alleged crimes or the death toll in the strategic city, which lies between Russian-annexed Crimea and separatist-held eastern Ukraine. Russia. “Mariupol has been devastated, there are tens of thousands dead, but even so, the Russians are not stopping their attack,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video clip to South Korean lawmakers, without elaborating. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register If confirmed, it would be by far the largest death toll ever reported in a place in Ukraine where cities, towns and villages have received relentless bombardment and corpses, including civilians, have appeared on the streets. The leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, backed by Russia, Denis Pushilin, told the Russian news agency RIA on Monday that more than 5,000 people may have been killed in Mariupol. He said Ukrainian forces were responsible. The number of people leaving the city has dropped because Russian forces had slowed down checks before leaving, Petro Andriushenko, Mariupol’s assistant mayor at the Telegram messaging service, said on Monday. About 10,000 people were waiting for control by Russian forces, he said. Russia does not allow military personnel to leave with evacuated civilians. There was no immediate comment from Moscow, which has previously accused Ukraine of blocking the evacuations. Citing figures from the Mariupol city administration, Ukraine’s human rights ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova said 33,000 Mariupol residents had been deported to Russia or to Russian-backed separatist territories in eastern Ukraine. Russia said on Sunday it had evacuated 723,000 people from Ukraine since launching its “special operation”. Moscow denies attacking civilians. Service members of the pro-Russian troops inspect roads during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port of Mariupol, Ukraine, April 7, 2022. REUTERS / Alexander Ermochenko / File Photo “Witnesses report that Russian National Guard troops and Kadyrovit (Chechen) units are making illegal arrests, torturing detainees and executing them for any pro-Ukrainian stance,” Denisova told Mariupol in a Telegram post. The Russian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations. Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerasenko said in a televised interview on Monday that “displaced” Ukrainians were being held in guarded sanatoriums and holiday camps. “These people are not allowed to move freely or have free access to communication platforms to communicate with their relatives in Ukraine,” he said, without giving direct details. Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk told Reuters that the number of checkpoints along the Russian-controlled corridor between Mariupol in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia has increased from three to 15. Mariupol was among nine humanitarian corridors agreed with Russia on Monday to evacuate people from the besieged eastern regions, but its corridor was for private cars only, Verestsuk told the Telegram. The bus supply could not be agreed, he said. Ukraine says Russian forces are rallying for a new offensive in the east, including Mariupol, where people have been without water, food and energy for weeks. read more Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Additional references by Max Hunder and Elizabeth Piper. written by Conor Humphries. curated by Philippa Fletcher, William Maclean and Grant McCool Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
