Zelensky: Siege of Mariupol a ‘terror that will be remembered for centuries to come’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said Russia’s siege on the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol is a “terror that will be remembered for centuries.”

Over the weekend, officials from the Mariupol city government alleged that thousands of residents were being forcibly transported to Russia. Russia last week shelled a theater in the city where hundreds of women, families with young children and the elderly were seeking shelter. 

“To do this to a peaceful city… is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come,” Zelensky said late on Saturday, according to Reuters.

The Ukrainian leader has previously called Russia’s actions in Mariupol “war crimes.”

The Mariupol city government said over the weekend that Russian forces “illegally took people” from a sports club where thousands were sheltering, mainly women and children. 

Mariupol has faced a barrage of Russian attacks in the past few weeks. On Sunday, it was reported that an art school housing hundreds of refugees had been bombed by Russian forces. The word “children” had reportedly been written on the sides of the building.

During an address to Israeli lawmakers Sunday, Zelensky also questioned Israel’s reluctance to sell its Iron Dome missile defense system to Ukraine, Reuters reported.

“Everybody knows that your missile defence systems are the best… and that you can definitely help our people, save the lives of Ukrainians, of Ukrainian Jews,” Zelensky, who is Jewish, said.