Russians forcibly removed 20 to 30 thousand citizens from Mariupol

Source: Vadym Boychenko in an interview with UNIAN

Direct speech: Today we can talk about the evacuation of 50% of the population from 540 thousand in our country before the war.

As soon as the war began and while the railway was working, while ordinary roads were working, about 140 thousand left.  Then another 100,000 left. 60 thousand were taken out in an organized manner through the corridor with the help of volunteers. But we must understand that in the vicinity of the city there are people who also require evacuation.

Starting from the sixth day of the war, we are trying to do everything to make the evacuation route work. But the Russian troops did and are doing everything to ensure that not a single bus remains in Mariupol. They turned 150 new buses into ashes".

Details: Boychenko said that utilities and volunteers in the city announced to people that they could leave through the corridor.  There was no "silence" regime - people went out under the explosions of shells.

"Someone in cars, and someone just walked towards the coast. Already there, on hitchhikes and volunteer routes, we delivered people to Berdyansk, and already from Berdyansk to Zaporizhzhya", the mayor said.

Since March 25, 3.5 thousand people have been evacuated.

So far, there is only an assumption about how many Mariupol residents were forcibly deported to Russia by the invaders.

Direct speech: "Now they (Russians - ed.) publish some lists, but they cannot be trusted. According to our estimates, this is from 20 to 30 thousand citizens.

It's hard to say why they do it. But, for example, yesterday I got a phone call from a neighbor who was forcibly taken away.  He went for water and was taken away.  While he was in occupied Novoazovsk.

Some are being taken to Russia. Suppose the train was loaded, it left... for Tomsk.  What is the logic here - it's hard to understand.

People are still very frightened and afraid to speak. They do not understand what will happen to them next. Not everyone has mobile phones or documents. My friend's parents called on the phone, but they spoke in a whisper. You must understand that a man spent 20 days in the basement, and now he has been taken away to no one knows where.

Details: According to Boychenko, "Mariupol residents are not spoiled during deportation". They leave people in schools and rewrite their data.

When asked whether Russia would release the forcibly deported Ukrainians abroad, when many still do not have documents, Boychenko replied that the relevant minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, is already dealing with this issue.

The mayor also spoke about cases of being taken prisoner during the evacuation: "There is a checkpoint near the village of Mangush where traitorous police officers stand. They went over to the side of the DPR. Recently, a family came out at the Mangus checkpoint, but the occupiers captured them. Currently, civilians are in prison and demanding ransom for them. This is a real fact. There are many such examples".