April 22 (Reuters) – Only Russian President Vladimir Putin can decide the future of the 100,000 civilians still trapped in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, the city’s mayor, Vadim Botchenko, told Reuters on Thursday.
Vladimir Poutine claimed Thursday the victory of Russia Mariupol, theater of the principal battle fought since the beginning of the war in Ukraine on February 24 and become the symbol of the sufferings of the Ukrainian civil population.
“It is important to understand that the lives of the people who are still there are in the hands of one person, Vladimir Putin. He will also have the blood of all the people who die from now on.” added Vadim Botchenko during an interview.
The Russian president said the port city on the shores of the Sea of Azov had been “liberated”, although several hundred Ukrainian fighters remained entrenched in the steelworks of Azovstal.
“It is not a liberation which was planned, it is a destruction”, declared Vadim Botchenko, estimating that 90% of Mariupol had been damaged or destroyed since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
“We are only talking about one thing today, the need for a ceasefire. We must evacuate the 100,000 residents of Mariupol who are prisoners of the Russian forces and we must release the people who are in Azovstal” , he said. (Report Alessandra Prentice and Issam Abdallah; French version Camille Raynaud)