About 75,000 people evacuated from Mariupol – Vereshchuk

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, Temporary Occupied Territories Reintegration Minister Iryna Vereshchuk at a briefing, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“As for Mariupol, we have managed to evacuate about 75,000 people. Those who are staying there and need urgent evacuation – it is about 100,000 women, children, elderly people, persons with disabilities. They need help from us and the world very much,” Vereshchuk told.

In her words, about 45,000 people were forcibly deported by Russian invaders to the so-called ‘DPR’ and Russia.

According to Vereshchuk, Russian troops are committing numerous crimes within the occupied territories. They include murder, torture, looting, rape and others, and all of them are recorded by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine.

“The most shocking are sexual crimes. They have no statute of limitations. The occupiers are abusing our children, underage girls, women. Such evidence is given by the women who have managed to leave Mariupol. The world must be aware of this,” Vereshchuk stressed.

A reminder that the Russian aggression has caused one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in Mariupol. Russian invaders are bombarding unarmed civilians and blocking humanitarian aid. According to Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko, as of March 27, 2022, the death toll among civilians reached about 5,000 people, including about 210 children. Some 160,000 civilians are now trapped in the besieged city and crying for help.