"Unfortunately, we are in the hands of the occupiers today"

Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine has come largely under the control of Russian forces, its mayor said on Monday, after weeks of bombardment left the besieged city in pieces, killed an unknown number of civilians and forced hundreds of thousands of residents from their homes.

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“Not everything is in our power,” said Mayor Vadym Boichenko, in a live television interview. “Unfortunately, we are in the hands of the occupiers today.”

Boichenko called for a complete evacuation of the remaining population of Mariupol, which was home to more than 400,000 people before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

“According to our estimates, about 160,000 people are in the besieged city of Mariupol today, where it is impossible to live because there is no water, no electricity, no heat, no connection,” he said. “And it’s really scary.”

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