"Dance on bones": Russian invaders plan to set up Christmas tree in captured Mariupol

The occupation "authorities" of the temporarily occupied Mariupol are going to set up a Christmas tree in the city.

Source: Kostiantyn Ivashchenko, collaborator and puppet head of the occupation "administration", on Telegram

Details: The height of the Christmas tree, which the occupiers want to install on the ruins of the destroyed city, will reach 20 metres. According to Ivashchenko, the tree will be located in the city centre – on Freedom Square, which the invaders "renamed" to Lenin Square. Last year in Mariupol, the Christmas tree stood on Teatralna Square, opposite the drama theatre, which the Russians dropped a heavy bomb on.

In addition, the occupation "authorities" announced a children's "action" in Mariupol called "Wishing Tree". According to Ivashchenko, both the Christmas tree and the action "will be sponsored by St. Petersburg".

Moreover, Mariupol schoolchildren are going to be taken for "a special cultural program and excursions to New Year's St. Petersburg" on New Year's holidays.

Quote: "At the invitation of Governor Alexander Beglov, Mariupol schoolchildren will be able to spend their winter holidays in the twin city," says the head of the occupation "administration", who believes that children "will get a lot of the most pleasant emotions and impressions".

Details: The incumbent Mariupol City Council has responded to the cynical "gesture" from the puppet administration of the occupied city:

"Setting up a Christmas tree in the destroyed Mariupol is another cynicism and a dance on the bones of thousands of peaceful Mariupol residents who died at the hands of Russians. This is a disregard for the memory of people who were not given the chance to live to see the New Year."

Background: The Russian invaders have been turning Ukrainian Mariupol into a total ruin by attacking the city with the use of missiles and dropping bombs since the first days of the full-scale war. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Russian forces destroyed 95% of buildings in Mariupol. The current situation in the city is critical, as the heating season has not started,even though it's winter already; people from everywhere say they are freezing in their own apartments, where they are forced to shut their windows with cloth instead of glass. There are not enough electric heaters that the occupiers bring to the city. Mariupol residents, who stand in long queues in order to get them, quarrel and fight.

Children are also suffering from the cold in the destroyed city; they have to wear jackets and hats in classrooms to keep themselves warm, while the teachers-collaborators imitate the educational process and conduct "conversations about important things" [the name of a school subject in Russia that aims to "strengthen traditional Russian spiritual and moral values" and foster patriotism among Russian schoolchildren – ed.].

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