US States Department Spokesman, Ned Price has highlighted the reports of what has happened and what is happening in Mariupol, a city in southeastern Ukraine that was once home to 450,000 people over Russia invasion.
In a Press Conference on Monday, the spokesman said since Russian forces began their attack on Ukraine on February 24th, some of the most egregious accounts of what could constitute war crimes have emanated from Mariupol.
According to him, "The city has been without food, water, electricity, or gas since the early days after Russian President, Vladimir Putin began his relentless assault on the city. Satellite images show whole areas of Mariupol in ruins, with smoke surrounding the city, was peaceful and vibrant just a month ago".
Price emphasized that information coming out of the city is limited, while reports that are getting through painted a very grim picture. "The Russian Air Force bombed Mariupol’s Maternity Hospital on March 9th, just earlier this month, a children’s/maternity hospital.
"UN report, witnesses indicated that the hospital was both “operational and clearly identifiable” when it was hit. The next day, on March 10th, Russia’s forces reportedly bombed what should have been a safe corridor, preventing humanitarian supplies from reaching Mariupol.
He further said on March 11th, a, quote/unquote, “ceasefire” to allow civilians to leave five cities including Mariupol was declared. "The following day, March 12th, there was imagery of a Russian tank shelling an apartment building in that very city.
"On March 16th, the Donetsk Regional Theater of Drama that was sheltering hundreds was reduced to rubble. The word “children” had been written in Russian outside the building and was clearly visible from the air that did not deter the Kremlin’s forces.
"Around 130 people have been rescued, but the fate of hundreds more remain unknown. On March 16th, there were reports of Russia’s invading forces seizing the Regional Intensive Care Hospital in Mariupol, preventing the staff and patients from leaving the hospital and ruthlessly using them as human shields".
"March 20th, Russia’s bombs hit the G12 Art School in Mariupol, where about 400 civilians were reportedly sheltering. It’s unclear if there were any survivors. There are reports that several thousand residents of Mariupol have been unwillingly deported to Russia.
"We hear stories of the targeting and abduction of journalists. Reports of indiscriminate shelling, as well as targeted strikes on apartment complexes. Mariupol city officials say at least 2,400 civilians have been killed since Russia launched its invasion. It’s likely that number is in fact much, much higher".
The Spokesman noted that beyond the carnage, what has transpired in Mariupol is for another reason. "The city’s population, whom Russian forces are brutalizing, is overwhelmingly Russian-speaking.
"These are the very people President Putin had the temerity to claim, to claim to the world that he sought to, quote/unquote, “protect.” If the world needed any further indication that Putin’s justification, justifications have been entirely hollow, they need look no further than Mariupol.
He further said given the preponderance of Russian speakers, Putin may well have expected residents of this city to welcome his forces. "Instead, they have mounted stiff resistance, disabusing the Kremlin and the world of any sense that the people of Ukraine would greet invading Russian forces as anything other than an aggressor and occupier.
"And that fierce and perhaps unexpected resistance may well explain why Putin has employed such force against this particular, civilian population. The brave people of Mariupol are putting the lie to Putin’s claims, and the Kremlin is reacting with characteristic brutality.
"Beyond the borders of Mariupol, the UN says 10 million people about a quarter of Ukraine’s pre-war population have been displaced by this war", he said.
Price echoed a statement the United Nations issued just yesterday, which included the following: The devastation and suffering in Mariupol and Kharkiv raise grave fears about the fate of millions of residents of Kyiv and other cities facing intensifying attacks.
He said United States fully supports UN Secretary General's statement. "Continuing the war, as we heard, in Ukraine is morally unacceptable, politically indefensible, and militarily nonsensical. By any measure, but even by the shrewdest calculation, it is time to stop the fighting now; give the opportunity for peace to take root. It is time to end this absurd conflict of Putin’s choosing".
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