The southern port city of Mariupol is a central target in Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. It forms a land bridge between Russian forces in Crimea to the southwest and Russian-controlled territory to the north and east.
The predominantly Russian-speaking city has been under heavy shelling from Russian forces since the invasion began on February 24.
The Consul General of Greece in Mariupolwhich organized several evacuations of Greek nationals, compared this city to Guernica or Aleppoupon his arrival in Athens on Sunday.
“Mariupol will be included in the list of cities in the world that have been completely destroyed by war, such as Guernica, Stalingrad, Grozny, Aleppo…“, Androulakis told reporters at the airport.
According to the military administration of the Donetsk region, Mariupol has become “a ghost town“.
“Currently, more than 80% of the city’s infrastructure is damaged or destroyed. Of this 80%, about 40% is not recoverable“, detailed Pavlo Kirelenko, a manager.
The United Nations has described the humanitarian situation in the city as “extremely serious“, the “residents facing critical and life-threatening shortages of food, water and medicine“.