Tragedy in Mariupol

 

 

By Dr. Vladimir Kozin

There are some new facts related to the current tragedy in Mariupol. 

[Mariupol has been a stronghold of the Nazi Azov Battalion death squads since just after the 2014 US directed coup in Kiev. When peaceful protests began soon after the coup calling for a 'federated' Ukraine in Mariupol, the Azov Battalion was sent there and began shooting peaceful protestors in the streets. Soon they were terrorizing local citizens and have since established a base inside the city.]

The humanitarian operation there continues. On one hand, over the past day, 13,751 people have been evacuated from the city, and a total of 56,743 have been already evacuated so far.

On the other hand, according to radio intercepts, it has been reliably established that nationalists in the city are conducting intensive negotiations with Kiev to unblock Mariupol and send them support.
Over the past three days, the intensity of negotiations has increased significantly, while negotiations on both sides are taking place in extremely rough tones. The neo-nazi in Mariupol feel the hopelessness of the current situation, and Kiev understands the impossibility of providing any assistance. Thus, the nationalists have more than 200,000 people of the civilian population, whom they can use as a "human shield". This position has been agreed with the leadership of Ukraine. 

Understanding the content and consequences of these negotiations, Russia officially appealed to the Kiev authorities and two days ago brought that Moscow is ready to open humanitarian corridors and release all neo-nazi factions in any direction in order to save the city and those people, who have already glorified themselves with the explosions of a kindergarten, two schools, a maternity hospital and a drama theater building. At the same time, Russia guaranteed the life of nationalists who will laid down their weapons, and provide a humanitarian corridor for their exit to the territories controlled by Kiev. 

Unfortunately, in response, Russia received a categorical refusal from high officials of Kiev even for such generous offer.

One can only guess about the next steps of desperate gangs who have lost their minds and understand their complete hopelessness, while horrifying pictures of the possible consequences of these actions are emerging. That is why, Russian side warned the entire civilized world in advance, international organizations, primarily

Over the past three days, the intensity of negotiations has increased significantly, while negotiations on both sides are taking place in extremely rough tones. The neo-nazi in Mariupol feel the hopelessness of the current situation, and Kiev understands the impossibility of providing any assistance. Thus, the nationalists have more than 200,000 people of the civilian population, whom they can use as a "human shield". This position has been agreed with the leadership of Ukraine.

Understanding the content and consequences of these negotiations, Russia officially appealed to the Kiev authorities and two days ago brought that Moscow is ready to open humanitarian corridors and release all neo-nazi factions in any direction in order to save the city and those people, who have already glorified themselves with the explosions of a kindergarten, two schools, a maternity hospital and a drama theater building. At the same time, Russia guaranteed the life of nationalists who will laid down their weapons, and provide a humanitarian corridor for their exit to the territories controlled by Kiev. 

Unfortunately, in response, Russia received a categorical refusal from high officials of Kiev even for such generous offer.

One can only guess about the next steps of desperate gangs who have lost their minds and understand their complete hopelessness, while horrifying pictures of the possible consequences of these actions are emerging. That is why, Russian side warned the entire civilized world in advance, international organizations, primarily the UN, the OSCE, the International Committee of the Red Cross about sad and tragic consequences Kiev’s approach to the issue of refugees in Ukraine.

Kiev’s violence versus Ukrainian civilians

The Joint Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine continues to record numerous facts of violence against civilians and in other localities not only in Mariupol, but in some other places which continues to be held by neo-nazi as a "human shield".
Here are just some of them over the past day:

• In Chernihov, the militants of nationalist battalions, under threat of physical violence, take away the last food from the local population, including those received as humanitarian aid.

• In Zaporozhie, the nationalist-minded authorities forcibly distribute Molotov cocktails to the residents of the city and call on the civilian population to throw them at Russian troops, thereby cynically pushing people to imminent death.

• In Kharkov, the Ukrainian nationalists fired at the place of delivery of humanitarian aid.

• In addition, in Severodonetsk, nationalist formations and foreign mercenaries defending themselves together with territorial defence reservists forcibly placed the local population around occupied residential buildings, and citizens who refused to leave shelters and go out into the streets were simply shot.

Independent exit of people from settlements is strictly suppressed. Local residents, taken to the basements of residential buildings, allegedly to escape from Russian air strikes, are in appalling unsanitary conditions, lack of food and water, without electricity and under the influence of lies fabricated by the Ukrainian authorities about blocking humanitarian corridors.

All these facts once again testify to the genocide of the Kiev authorities against their own people and complete indifference to the fate of millions of ordinary people.

Unfortunately, all our persistent appeals to the Ukrainian side about the opening of humanitarian corridors to Russia, as well as official appeals to international structures of the UNO, the OSCE, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, are still ignored to date. At the same time the Kiev authorities persistently continue to assert that there are no people willing to evacuate to the Russian Federation.

~ Dr. Vladimir Kozin Member, Russian Academy of Military Sciences; Member, Russian Academy of Natural Sciences; Vice President, Russian National Institute for Global Security Research