Russian invaders rename Freedom Square in Mariupol as Lenin Square, hang Russian flag
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“The invaders renamed Freedom Square in Mariupol as Lenin Square and displayed their tricolor over it,” Andriushchenko wrote in a post on the Telegram messenger on June 11.
He suggested that the Russians would like to replace the Ukrainian inscription “Mariupol” on the square with the Russian version (as they did to the monument at the entrance to the city).
“Stop destroying Mariupol. Just rename it Zhdanov again,” Andriushchenko wrote.
Earlier, the invaders changed the Ukrainian name of the city on the marker at the entrance to Mariupol to Russian. However, it was done so clumsily that the name of the city now appears to read as “Marnupol.”
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The Russian invasion has caused a huge humanitarian catastrophe in Mariupol. The city is almost completely destroyed as a result of enemy shelling. Now the city has no proper power, water and gas supplies.
Up to 22,000 civilians have been killed since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion on Feb. 24. As of today, more than 100,000 residents remain in the ruined city.
The World Health Organization has warned that Mariupol is in danger of seeing an epidemic of cholera.