Azov Regiment: Putin needs Mariupol to conceal real number of civilian casualties

Captain Svyatoslav Palamar, Deputy Commander of the Azov Regiment, said this in a video address posted on Azov’s Telegram account.

"Street fighting is ongoing in the town, enemy aircraft and artillery work non-stop, the town is being razed to the ground… I emphasize that Putin needs Mariupol to show the weakness of our state. I emphasize that Putin needs Mariupol to create a land corridor to Crimea. I emphasize that Putin needs Mariupol to conceal the real number of civilian casualties because what you are told is very different from reality," Palamar said, adding that invaders shoot dead those associated with the army and take people hostage.

According to him, the rubble of the drama theater, destroyed in the bombing on March 16, is being cleared away. The number of those killed in the cynical crime of the Russian Federation is still unknown.

"The defenders of the town continue the heroic struggle, courageously hold the defense, including fighting with trophy weapons. We are waiting for the main forces to arrive and for the blockade to be lifted," the Azov fighter stressed.

The Ukrainian military destroy a dozen Russian armored vehicles and many soldiers every day, he said.

"I want the whole of Ukraine to be proud of the heroic struggle of the town’s defenders, to tell the whole world about them … Mariupol continues to be a Ukrainian town. The struggle continues," Palamar stressed.

Russian invaders caused the worst humanitarian catastrophe in Mariupol. Unable to defeat the Ukrainian army, they are bombing the unarmed and blocking humanitarian aid. As of March 13, 2,187 Mariupol residents were killed in attacks by the Russian Federation.

On March 16, the enemy bombed the Mariupol Drama Theater and the Neptune Basin building. Hundreds of people, mostly women, children and the elderly, hid from the constant shelling in those places. Despite the continuous shelling, the rubble was cleared away when it was possible as the bomb shelter under the theater withstood the enemy air strike.

On March 16-17, about 35,000 civilians left Mariupol constantly shelled by the Russian aggressor.

On February 24, Russian president Putin announced the beginning of a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops shell and destroy infrastructure, massively fire on residential areas of Ukrainian cities and villages using artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, and ballistic missiles.

Photo credit: Yevheniy Maloletka

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