Ukraine accuses Russia of forcibly deporting Mariupol residents
Ukraine claimed Thursday that residents of Mariupol who have survived Russian bombardment are now being forcibly deported to Russia.
"The Russian Federation has launched a new phase of terror against the city of Mariupol," the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. "According to available information, the Russian army has forcibly deported about 6,000 Mariupol residents to Russian filtration camps in order to use them as hostages for political pressure on Ukraine."
"At the same time, the Russian armed forces are firing on evacuation columns trying to leave Mariupol for the unoccupied territory of Ukraine," the ministry added. "Russian troops continue to hold a humanitarian convoy of buses that arrived a few days ago from Mariupol from Zaporizhia."

According to the ministry, some 15,000 residents of the besieged port city in southeastern Ukraine are in danger of being forcibly deported to Russia, with Russian troops confiscating peoples' passports and other identification documents.
"Such actions by Russia are a gross violation of the laws or customs of war, the rules of international humanitarian law," the ministry said.
The ministry called on world leaders to "take urgent action to save the lives of residents of Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities who have been in an inhumane siege by the Russian army."
"The international community must impose new tough sanctions on Russia to stop its deadly military machine, as well as cut off all business ties with Russian companies to stop funding Russia's war against Ukraine," the ministry said.
-ABC News Julia Drozd






