The pseudo-mayor of occupied Mariupol, Oleh Morgun, a former law enforcement officer sentenced to 11 years for participating in a terrorist group, organized the Day of the City of Mariupol according to the Kremlin’s scenario.
The invaders pay considerable attention to projects centered in Mariupol because it is the largest city they managed to capture after the full-scale invasion. Its favorable location on the shores of the Sea of Azov and key land highways and railways also plays an important role for the Kremlin.
The Russians boast about the scale of the construction projects they are carrying out in Mariupol, which they call “the most modern and comfortable in all of Russia.” However, they cannot explain why they have not been able to make their cities like this. Why do they enjoy destroying cities in neighboring countries so much that they can then promote their reconstruction efforts?
Of course, all the speeches and celebrations were filled with pathos of gratitude to the Kremlin dictator and the Russian regions that are now working on the city.
Among the main achievements of the occupation administration of the city, they quite seriously mention the restoration of the largest underpass in Mariupol with 7 exits and the construction of the first stationary bathhouse with a hairdresser. They also mention the renovation of the Pension Fund building. The promise to restore the Mariupol Drama Theater by September 2025 is an additional portion of cynicism. The theater that they ruthlessly destroyed with bombs and killed more than 600 people, women, and children.
In the usual Russian manner, the city is being filled with Russian symbols. Thus, on the eve of this pseudo-holiday, the city of Tula created a square with its samovar and gingerbread man. Such gestures are nothing more than filling a Ukrainian city with typically Russian attributes. First, it was a plate at the entrance to the city, then the names of streets and squares were changed, and further actions were typically Russian buildings and monuments. All of this is important to Russia because it shapes the Russian space of the city they have captured.
Also, entire families of workers, military, and security forces are actively moving from St. Petersburg and Tula to Mariupol. And this is despite the fact that the occupiers are in no hurry to demine urban areas where a large amount of ammunition is concentrated. For example, in the Left Bank district of Mariupol, local residents still periodically find unexploded ordnance.
You can stop the policy of the Russian invaders and their collaborators by publicizing their crimes and demanding their international prosecution. You can also participate in rallies in support of Ukraine or donate to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
