Three years ago, Russia captured Mariupol. A brief overview of life in the city - from unemployment to real estate scandals The theater building in Mariupol, April 2, 2025. Photo: Anatoly Zhdanov / Kommersant / Sipa USA / Vida Press Three years ago, in the spring of 2022, Mariupol was under a long siege, and then under the Russian occupation. Many residents were killed, wounded or forced to leave at home. The Azovstal plant, like most urban infrastructure, became ruins.