NOS / Harming Kersten
ANNOUNCEMENTS•
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Chiem Balduk
Foreign publisher
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Chiem Balduk
Foreign publisher
During Christmas, the Ukrainian city of Mariupol traditionally transforms into a sea of holiday lights. The highlight: a meter-high Christmas tree in the heart of the city. In 2020 it became elected to the “most beautiful Christmas tree in Ukraine”. The tree collapsed last year suddenly. Presumably due to the combination of heavy lights and wind, but many saw it as a harbinger for a bad year.
It was indeed a disastrous year for the Ukrainian port city. Since day one of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the city has been under attack. Ultimately, Mariupol fell heavily battered and largely destroyed into Russian hands. Half of the approximately 430,000 inhabitants are estimated to have fled, tens of thousands have been killed. It became the city hardest hit by the war.
Also this year there is a large Christmas tree under construction in Piazza della Libertà. Gift of St. Petersburg, the metropolis in the north-west of the country of the new rulers. The exiled Ukrainian city council calls placing the Christmas tree “on the bones of dead peaceful citizens” a “cynical act” that shows “disrespect for people who are not allowed to experience the new year”.
Many Mariupol residents have their heads elsewhere than Christmas, which is celebrated on January 7 in the Orthodox world. Resident Artjom says much of the occupied city is still in ruins. “Many apartments are still without electricity and water, but fortunately I have it. Things are improving here and there, but a better life is still far away,” he says via Telegram.
Winter is still relatively mild, with temperatures just above freezing, but in the eastern city the mercury can drop well below freezing. For apartments without windows, this means very cold. In the house of a resident in the suburb of Livoberezhny froze by 1 degree earlier this month.
Rebuilding, but for whom?
Russia promises to completely rebuild the city in three years. For this, 28,000 construction workers were allegedly flown in. The American news agency AP has calculated that at least 50,000 homes will be demolished. Go online lists scattered by addresses that become flat. Those who have fled can find out if their house is still standing.
Also the famous Drama Theater, which at the time housed hundreds of civilians it was bombedhas been largely demolished:
Russians demolish bombed-out Mariupol theater
The Ukrainian authorities fear that the demolition operation could also destroy traces of war crimes. Without proper research, it will forever remain unclear what caused the buildings to be destroyed. It also hurts the residents that with demolition – instead of restoration – the remains of their trusty Mariupol are permanently obliterated.
Many residents are resigned to their new situation and circumstances, says refugee Olena, who is in close contact with those left behind. “Many citizens work with Russian builders, while most of the houses are given to newcomers from Russia. I don’t know anyone who knows anyone who has been given such a new house.”
Resident Volodymyr agrees: “Only loyal Russians and Ukrainians get a new apartment.” According to him, houses built quickly are of low quality. Furthermore, only the apartments are being rebuilt; single-family homeowners have to fend for themselves. “A friend of my mother’s has no windows, but there’s no glass to buy anywhere, so she boarded it up. Others get materials from abandoned houses,” says Volodymyr.
The demolition of Mariupol in pictures:
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Telegram / @mariupolnow
Apartments are being demolished at a rapid pace -
EPA
Work on damaged power cords -
Telegram / @mariupolrada
A new bus stop, decorated with the Russian tricolor -
EPA
Debris being cleaned up (December 12) -
EPA
A newly built apartment next to a badly damaged housing estate
Streets are renamed quickly – the Vrijheidslaan is again called Leninlaan. Ukrainian names are Russified: Mariupol is hardly spelled with a Ukrainian i anymore. The latest feat of arms is the repainting of a famous mural of a girl who symbolizes the war in Donbas. “From St. Petersburg, to Mariupol,” he says not.
Monotonous days
Many young people are discouraged, Olena describes. “Minors drink and smoke a lot and hang out in the courtyards.” Nastya, 20, who stayed in Mariupol with her parents and brother, seems to agree. “There’s nothing to do here. We have plenty of food and stuff, but every day feels the same.”
Some parents try to get their children to get Ukrainian education via the Internet, risking their own lives, says Olena. “But most are trying to leave. I estimate half of my contacts have already left.”
Greta Kobotova, 24, also managed to escape from Mariupol. Earlier this year she wrote a vlog about city living for NOS:
“Guys, I’ll tell you a terrible story from Mariupol”
The Russian city council wants to celebrate the end of the year as a new beginning for Mariupol with all kinds of festivities. From that day it is no longer possible to pay with the hryvnya, the Ukrainian currency. Even the demolition of the prose theatre, a symbol of the city’s war suffering, is part of the search for a new beginning.
The mayor appointed by Russia Ivashchenko he says the city will enjoy “long-awaited peace and a bright future” next year because the city has “made the right choice to return to the great Russian family”. The city’s tens of thousands of refugee residents will think otherwise. They hope that 2023 will be the year of liberation of Mariupol.
