"They didn't like me": the story of a girl from Mariupol who has gone through “filtration” by the occupiers

Viktoriia Andrieieva  —  TUESDAY, 19 APRIL 2022

17-year-old Maria used to live in Mariupol. She, her sister and parents were lucky enough to get out of hell, but in Manhush [the settlement near Mariupol] the occupiers forced them to go through a "filtration" procedure.

The girl's story was published on the Telegram channel of Mariupol City Council.

Under shelling and Grad multiple rocket launchers, Maria's family drove about 20 kilometres from the destroyed city to the nearest settlement. There, the Russians forced everyone to go through a humiliating procedure.

"They took my fingerprints, scanned my documents and checked my phone. They didn't like me.

I was accompanied to the car by one of ‘their’ armed soldiers. He pushed me because he said I was walking too slowly.

I fell and injured my knee, but I realised that if I didn't get up now and run to the car, I wouldn't go back", the girl recalls.

The girl described how they checked everything: pockets, bags, glove compartment and the car boot.

But they didn’t stop there - the occupiers forced everyone to show them their clothes and everything underneath. Men were stripped right there on the street.

Maria's father was severely beaten for having an "empty" phone. He lost almost all of his sight.

Maria added that some people failed to pass through the "filtration". The Russians would take one family member out of the car and force the rest of them to drive off immediately.