Life in Mariupol after the occupation - Bazaars and Russian television

Citizens have begun to take to the streets of Mariupol, a city in southern Ukraine that has been pounded by Russian forces for weeks and is now under their full control.

 

On Monday, residents were charging electronics to power generators and exchanging clothes and food at makeshift flea markets as a giant Russian-installed giant bus station aired a state-run Russian television program.

Liuba wears black sunglasses and a hat to protect her from the sun and says she is there to charge her cell phone.

She has decided not to leave the city even though her apartment has been destroyed. "There is no electricity, no water - things are very difficult of course," he explains.

A resident of the area, Nikolai, says that he is also there to charge his mobile phone as there is no electricity at the train station, where he has catalyzed.

None of them wants his last name mentioned.

Some residents collect essential products in boxes bearing the characteristic pro-Russian symbol "Z".

Others have set up stalls to sell or exchange products, such as vegetables and shoes.

A woman, who asked not to be named, said that few products were left after the looting that took place in the city.

Russia took full control of Mariupol earlier this month when more than 2.400 Ukrainian fighters surrendered and took refuge inside the besieged Azovstal steel plant.

The occupation of Mariupol by Moscow helped her secure full control of the Sea of ​​Azov and to build a land bridge connecting mainland Russia with Crimea, which she annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described Mariupol as "completely devastated", but Moscow has pledged to rebuild it.

The two sides have accused each other of targeting residential areas and of being responsible for the completely damaged housing estates that now make up most of the city.

It is not known how many people have remained there.

Source: RES-EAP