No electricity, no internet, but tens of thousands of civilians still holding out: the situation in the besieged south-east Ukrainian city of Mariupol can only be guessed at. Very little information gets out, and it can hardly be verified independently. One thing is clear: the fighting continues. During the night, reports of an alleged use of chemical weapons in Mariupol made the rounds. David Nauer, former SRF correspondent in Moscow, on the dramatic situation of civilians in the bombed city.
SRF News: What do you know at the moment?
David Nauer: It’s all difficult to assess. A Ukrainian combat force reports on this alleged use of chemical weapons. It’s a notorious entity that I don’t think is a particularly trustworthy source. However, today she published a video in which civilians report symptoms of poisoning: shortness of breath, eye problems, fainting spells. People say they saw smoke and then had the symptoms described.
So far, however, there has been no independent confirmation of this alleged chemical weapons attack. The Ukrainian government in Kyiv also says it doesn’t know what happened. The case will first be investigated.
What do you hear about the situation of the people in the city?
It is very difficult to get an exact picture. There has been no electricity, no internet and no cell phone reception in Mariupol for a long time. So we have little information. Mariupol is like a black hole. But what gets out gives a picture that the situation in the city is hell on earth.
Legend:
Some managed to escape from the embattled city. Others, like this family, are taking refuge in air-raid shelters in Mariupol (pictured April 8).
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Mariupol has been under siege and constantly shelled since the beginning of March. Apparently there is hardly a house left that has not been shot at. In places the city looks like a landscape of ruins. The people have no water, food or medicine. One can hardly imagine a worse place.
People who have fled, who somehow made it out of the city, say that the residents bury their relatives or neighbors in the yard of the houses.
According to the mayor of Mariupol, up to 20,000 civilians have died since the city was besieged by Russian troops. Does that fit into the picture that you as an observer have of the situation?
I cannot judge whether this number is correct. But she fits. You have to assume that there are a lot of dead civilians in the city. People who have fled, who somehow made it out of the city, say that the residents bury their relatives or neighbors in the yard of the houses. Going to the cemetery has long been impossible and would be far too dangerous.
Legend:
The Mariupol City Theater used to stand here (photo from April 4).
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Dead bodies are also said to be lying around in the streets that nobody can clear away. Horrific reports are reaching us. You have to reckon with a lot of deaths.
The conversation was led by Dominik Rolli.