Critical water shortage in Mariupol forces people to collect water from puddles - mayor's adviser
IRYNA BALACHUK – SATURDAY, 18 JUNE 2022, 11:47
The water supply problem in Mariupol is getting worse, with people being forced to take water from puddles after pipe leakages.
Source: Petro Andriushchenko, adviser to the Mayor of Mariupol, on Telegram
Quote from Andriushchenko: "Mariupol. The problem with drinking water is gaining momentum - to the point where there just isn’t any, especially in places where the occupiers have reported that they have [allegedly] restored the water supply. People are forced to literally take non-potable water from puddles and use it for life."
У Маріуполі проблема з водопостачанням. Люди набирають воду з калюж - радник мера pic.twitter.com/aCOvC8jkdk
— Українська правда ✌️ (@ukrpravda_news) June 18, 2022
Details: He posted a video of people in Mariupol collecting water from a puddle.
The mayor's adviser also said that the occupiers have stolen the equipment that operates the fountain in Theatre Square.
Background:
- The siege of Mariupol by Russian troops started on 1 March. From the end of April, the defenders of Mariupol were surrounded inside the Azovstal plant: these consisted of members of the Azov Battalion of the National Guard, the marines, the border force and the police. They continued to hold the fort and asked the world to save them: the marines requested "extraction", while the Azov Battalion asked for at least their wounded personnel to be evacuated.
- On the night of 17 May, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced that the Mariupol garrison had completed its combat mission and the commanders now had the order to save the lives of the personnel. On 16 May, the evacuation of severely wounded fighters to occupied territory started. All the rest were to be extracted in several stages. Officially, they were taken prisoner. The Ukrainian government is planning their exchange.
- On 20 May, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation announced that all the Azovstal fighters had been extracted and that on 16 May, 2,439 people had come out of the bunkers, whom the Russians now considered prisoners of war.
- Mariupol is now occupied. The Russians have renamed the city's Freedom Square "Lenin Square".
- Vehicles with loudspeakers are driving around the streets of the destroyed city broadcasting Russian propaganda.
- According to the city council of Mariupol, 10,000 residents could die from infectious diseases by the end of 2022.
The occupiers have deported 50,000 Mariupol residents.
