Over 20,000 people already killed in Mariupol, residents are not allowed out of city for second day – local authorities
According to preliminary data, up to 22,000 people have died in the city of Mariupol, Donetsk region, since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Head of Donetsk regional military administration Pavlo Kyrylenko has said.
"The Mariupol situation makes it difficult to comment on the number of casualties, the city is under siege and blockaded... We are currently discussing 20,000 to 22,000 people dead in Mariupol," Kyrylenko said in a comment to CNN on Tuesday.
He also commented on information about a possible chemical attack in Mariupol. "We know that last night around midnight, a drone dropped some so-far-unknown explosive device, people who were in the area in and around the Mariupol metallurgical plant, three people began to feel unwell... What we have heard was that there were three people who were affected, taken to hospital, given medical assistance, at the moment their lives were not in danger," the head of the regional administration said.
Kyrylenko said the reports from the scene were preliminary, so he could not "100% confirm or comment on them," but confirmed that the incident itself took place.
Later, on the air of the telethon, the head of the regional administration specified that what substance had been sprayed would be established by the expert examination.
"I remind you that all this is happening in Mariupol, with which there is practically no connection, but by those lesions and respiratory tract and skin, we understand that this is a chemical substance. But it is too early to say that this is some kind of gas and draw conclusions "if we provide this information, it should already be 100% verified and understand how it [the substance] can be used in the future. Therefore, we are so restrained in comments and, I repeat, it is quite difficult to obtain this information," he said.
According to Kyrylenko, street fighting continues around the clock in Mariupol. At the same time, he said the city is mainly under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with the exception of certain areas where the movement of Russian troops is noted.
"But the city continues to be in an extremely difficult situation, and at the same time, for the second day in a row, even the population is not allowed to leave on their own transport," Kyrylenko said.
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