Russian occupiers are forcing residents of Mariupol, temporarily surrounded by invaders, to leave for the territory of the Russian Federation, the press service of the Mariupol City Council reported on Saturday.

"The occupiers are violently forcing people to leave Ukraine for Russian territory. Over the past week, several thousand Mariupol residents were taken to Russian territory. The occupiers illegally took people out of the Livoberezhny district and a shelter in the building of a sports club, where more than 1,000 people (mostly women) were hiding from constant bombing and children," the council said.

In these areas there were hostilities. In order to save the lives of Mariupol residents, the Armed Forces of Ukraine moved away from crowded places, which was used by the aggressor side.

The city council said that the captured Mariupol residents were taken to filtration camps, where the invaders checked people's phones and documents. After the check, some of the Mariupol residents were redirected to remote cities of the Russian Federation, the fate of others remains unknown.

"What the occupiers are doing today is familiar to the older generation, who witnessed the terrible events of World War II, when the Nazis forcibly seized people. It is hard to imagine that in the 21st century people were forcibly taken to another country. Not only are Russian troops destroying our peaceful Mariupol, they went even further and began to take out Mariupol residents. All war crimes on the part of Russia should receive the most severe punishment," Mayor of Mariupol Vadym Boichenko said.