Russian invaders are holding at least 3,000 civilians from the city of Mariupol in the premises of the former penal colony No. 52 in the village of Olenivka, Donetsk region, because of their active pro-Ukrainian position, adviser to the mayor of Mariupol Petro Andriuschenko said.

"In the prison in Olenivka, in this filtration prison, there are at least 3,000 Mariupol residents today. Only because they have an active pro-Ukrainian position. Is this not repression, not political persecution?" he said on the air of the national telethon #UA at once on Sunday evening.

At the same time, he said that, "the toughening of the repressive machine" is again taking place throughout Mariupol and in Mariupol district.

"They are actively looking for people who have a certificate of participation in hostilities since 2014. And they are also taken to Donetsk. That is, not to Olenivka, but to the 'glorious' Izoliatsia," Andriuschenko said.

In addition, he noted that in Mariupol "compared to Melitopol and Kherson, the situation is not the one for organized resistance."

"And this is probably one of the answers why there is still not even a hint of a normal life, because they are very afraid of resistance," the mayor's adviser said.