Jellyfish

Scary letter about Mariupol

Hello,

THIS MESSAGE (MATERIAL) IS CREATED AND (OR) DISTRIBUTED BY A FOREIGN MASS MEDIA PERFORMING THE FUNCTIONS OF A FOREIGN AGENT AND (OR) A RUSSIAN LEGAL ENTITY PERFORMING THE FUNCTIONS OF A FOREIGN AGENT

This is the Meduza mailing list, where we talk about the main events related to the war in Ukraine. Today's letter is dedicated to the latest news about Mariupol.

Mariupol was shelled on the first day of the war , 24 February. In early March, Russian forces encircled the city of over 400,000; already on March 11, the city authorities estimated the death toll at one and a half thousand people.

Mariupol is two catastrophes: an airstrike on a children's hospital and the destruction of a drama theater where civilians were hiding. In early April, the mayor of the city announced the destruction of 90% of the infrastructure.

Mariupol occupies a special place in the Russian information space, also because the Azov regiment is based there, that is, the very “nationalists” on whom Russia writes off the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the death of civilians throughout Ukraine.

at least 26 times Ramzan Kadyrov reported that the city was about to be taken, and a war correspondent of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company showed footage of the destruction with the comment: “Let them watch in Kiev and Lvov, <…> — if the city does not surrender, it will be destroyed.” Russian news agencies and pro-government media are already writing news with reference to the “new mayor” of Mariupol, a former local pro-Russian MP who was “appointed” by the head of the DPR as mayor.

In recent days, the number of terrible reports about Mariupol has increased - although it would seem, where else.

"Heart of War"

On April 11, speaking before the South Korean parliament, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that tens of thousands of people had died in Mariupol during the war. Prior to that, over the weekend, the Mariupol City Council published a photo from an underpass on the outskirts of the city, where the Russian military was said to have collected the bodies of dead citizens to be buried in mass graves or burned in mobile crematoria.

Zelensky also said in an interview with The Associated Press that Mariupol is “the heart of the war”: “It beats – we are at war, we are strong. If it stops beating, we will have weaker positions. They are people who have drawn a large number of the enemy onto themselves. The stronger our position in Mariupol, the stronger our position will be in the east of the state, in the JFO (Joint Forces Operation), and if they are stronger, then the negotiating table will be closer for us, and we will have advantages in dialogue with the Russian Federation ".

Two statements by the Ukrainian military inside the city should make clear the gravity of their situation.

On Sunday, Deputy Commander of the Azov Regiment Svyatoslav Palamar, in one of his regular addresses, essentially stated that there was no connection with the leadership of Ukraine, mentioning “politicians who say that ‘we support them, we are constantly in touch’”, while “ for more than two weeks no one picks up the phone and no one communicates with anyone” ( spoke about regular communication with the military in Mariupol in an interview with Russian journalists at the end of March). the president of Ukraine

Palamar's address was devoted to what the Ukrainian military is now in Mariupol, whose merits in containing the Russian army are being noted by everyone these days. “We are not in the past, we are in the present, you understand? This is when you read to yourself with sorrow, and you still exist, you still live in hope, you understand that they should come to you, ”he said.

On Monday, on Facebook of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade of the Naval Forces of Ukraine, a text appeared by one of the officers stating that the few, according to him, the resources transferred to them during the war had come to an end, and the brigade would face “the last battle.”

“For more than a month, the Marines fought without replenishment of ammunition, without food, without water, almost lapping from a puddle, dying in batches. <...> The infantry was all killed, and artillerymen, anti-aircraft gunners, signalmen, drivers and cooks are engaged in shooting battles. Even the orchestra. They die, but they fight. <...> No one wants to communicate with us anymore, because we are decommissioned, ”he wrote.

The Russian pro-government media picked up on this occasion and began to write that the Ukrainian command "abandoned" the marines.

In the afternoon, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny , said that "the connection with the units of the defense forces, heroically holding the city, is stable and maintained," and that "the conduct of defense operations is not a topic of public discussion." "Believe in the Armed Forces of Ukraine!" - he said. In his new address, Deputy Commander of the Azov Regiment Svyatoslav Palamar seemed to directly respond to these words, saying: “We believe in the military and political leadership of Ukraine. We will continue the fight for Ukrainian Mariupol.”

"Chemical troops"?

On the afternoon of April 11, the representative of the people's militia (that is, the armed forces) of the DPR, Eduard Basurin, admitted : “chemical troops” may be needed to “smoke out” the Ukrainian military from the “underground floors” of the Azovstal plant, where they took up positions. In the evening, the Azov Regiment reported that Russian troops had dropped an unknown poisonous substance from a drone. In "Azov" they claim that the victims "have respiratory failure, vestibulo-atactic syndrome." There is no independent confirmation of this information at the time of sending the letter.

No war. Your Medusa