Mariupol council: Russia turning city into ‘ashes of a dead land’

Mariupol’s local council said Tuesday that Russia is turning the Ukrainian port city into a “dead land” after Russia dropped two more bombs on it.

Ukraine refused to surrender Mariupol to Russia Sunday, which Russia had offered in exchange for safe passage for citizens to leave the city. 

The city, which had a population of 400,000 before the war, has been the focus of Russia’s attacks in recent weeks, including shelling of a theater, art school and other public buildings where mainly women and children have been seeking shelter.  

“Once again it is clear that the occupiers are not interested in the city of Mariupol. They want to level it to the ground and make it the ashes of a dead land,” the council said in a statement.

Hundreds of thousands are believed to be trapped in Mariupol without access to heat, food or water. Satellite images show widespread destruction in the city’s residential areas.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that the city is “being reduced to ashes” but will “survive.” He previously said that the siege of Mariupol is a “terror that will be remembered for years to come.”

Russia on Sunday called for Ukrainians in Mariupol to lay down their arms and end what it called a “terrible humanitarian catastrophe,” a demand that was quickly rejected. 

“There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk told the news outlet Ukrainian Pravda. 

Russia bombed a theater in Mariupol on March 16 where hundreds of civilians were hiding out. A week prior, they bombed a maternity and children’s hospital. 

The Mariupol City Council confirmed about 2,400 deaths as of March 14. According to Reuters, the council has not given any details about any casualties from the latest bombings. 

Mariupol is currently the biggest city still held by Ukraine in the Donetsk region.