The mayor\u0027s office in Mariupol says the Russian military will dress Ukrainian POWs in military uniforms as part of \u0027grotesque\u0027 show on May 9
“I think they are trying to catch some of us alive before May 9 and send us to the parade in cages,” they said, in a text message shared on social media. “Forget about us, we won’t get out of here.”
Mariupol is central to Putin’s narrative of victory in the war, even as die-hard Ukrainian resistance remains in Azovstal. Mariupol is an important target in Russian efforts to cut Ukraine off from its coastal grain and metals export routes, as well as to link Russian-controlled territory in the east of the country to Crimea, seized by Moscow in 2014.
The Kremlin denied this, but Ukrainian commander Lieutenant Colonel Denis Prokopenko praised his soldiers’ “superhuman efforts” in seeing off the latest onslaught, which he described as “difficult, bloody battles.”Article content “The situation is extremely difficult, but we continue to defend ourselves,” he said. Of the estimated 2,000 people still hiding out in the underground warrens, as many as 200 are civilians, including 30 children.While much of the world is focused on that attack, the invading forces are tidying up Mariupol for “celebrations” on May 9, Ukrainian officials said.