Editing by William Maclean and Rosalba O'Brien Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved Home Internships & JobsTake ActionDonateMore SearchMass Graves in Mariupol Hold Over 20,000 BodiesCNN 1Apr 22 Mass graves near besieged Ukrainian city Mariupol are evidence of war crimes Ukrainian officials say they have identified mass graves outside the city of Mariupol, which they say adds to mounting proof of Russian war crimes against Ukrainian civilians The claim is supported by photos collected and analyzed by US satellite imagery company Maxar Technologies that appear to show more than 200 new graves at a site on the northwestern edge of Manhush a town around 12 miles (19 kilometers) to the west of Mariupol An estimated 100,000 people remain trapped in Mariupol which has been under constant bombardment since it was surrounded by Russian forces on March 1 Ukrainian officials claim that more than 20,000 people in the city have died during the assault In a post-Thursday on messaging app Telegram said Russian trucks had collected bodies from the port city before "dumping them" in Manhush "This is direct evidence of war crimes and attempts to cover them up." A satellite image from April 3 shows what appears to be a newly dug mass gravesite A Maxar review of the satellite images from mid-March through to mid-April indicated the expansion of the gravesite began between March 23 to 26 and continued into April there are more than 200 newly dug graves at a site on the northwestern edge of Manhush Russian soldiers have been taking the bodies of people killed in Mariupol to this location," Maxar said in its analysis A firm death toll following weeks of heavy bombardment of Mariupol is not available journalists in Mariupol have documented the hasty burial of civilians in the besieged city and images have surfaced on social media showing bodies apparently left for collection in the city children and the elderly had died on the streets of the city we have seen that the bodies of dead Mariupol residents have begun to disappear from the streets of our city," he said He said there was a field near the cemetery with 30 meter-long (98-feet-long) ditches bring the bodies of the dead by trucks and throw them into these ditches," he said Evidence of mass graves outside Mariupol surfaced as Russian President Vladimir Putin proclaimed the "liberation" of the southeastern port city by Russian forces -- even as he called off an attempt to storm the Azovstal steel plant the final bastion of Ukrainian defenders inside the city Mariupol has been under nearly constant attack since the early days of Putin's invasion and much of the city has been destroyed by Russian shelling Civilian structures targeted included a maternity hospital and a theater where up to 1,300 people were seeking refuge an estimated 100,000 people still remain in Mariupol and its immediate surroundings which are reported to be largely under Russian control Ukrainian officials, who maintain the city remains contested, have warned of a major humanitarian emergency in Mariupol as food and water run out with electricity and gas cut -- but several attempts to establish evacuation corridors to allow civilians to escape have failed it is not possible today to evacuate civilians from Azovstal," Boichenko "Because we are asking for a stable ceasefire Somewhere we need one day to be able to accommodate those residents who have been hiding there for 57 days in a row US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said Wednesday that the siege of Mariupol speaks "to the brutality of this war" and the war crimes Vladimir Putin is committing Iryna Venediktova, Ukraine's prosecutor general, said earlier this month that her office is investigating 5,800 cases of alleged Russian war crimes with "more and more" proceedings opening every day US President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has called the atrocities being uncovered in Ukraine a "genocide." 2022: an overview of a cemetery and the early expansion of graves Satellite imagery has revealed what Ukrainian officials say appears to be another mass grave in Ukraine The site was spotted outside the port city of Mariupol which has seen some of the worst fighting since Russia invaded The grave is located just 12 miles west of Mariupol, along the northwestern edge of Manhush. And it may be 20 times larger than the mass grave in Bucha according to a Telegram post by the Mariupol City Council "The occupiers dug new trenches and filled them with corpses every day throughout April," the post said "Our sources report that in such graves the bodies are placed in several layers." said in a statement that the size of the mass grave has gradually expanded over the past month as Russian forces continue to transport Ukrainian bodies out of Mariupol spanning approximately 340 meters — over 1,000 feet — in length Mariupol's mayor, Vadym Boychenko, was quoted in the Telegram post as comparing it to the Nazi's massacre at Babyn Yar where more than 30,000 Ukrainian Jews were systematically executed over two days during World War II He has already killed tens of thousands of civilians in Mariupol," the post quoted Boychenko as saying "This requires a strong reaction from the entire civilized world Ukrainian fighters have refused to lay down their arms and submit to the Russian war machine since the Kremlin began its campaign in late February but now the city is all but under the control of the Russians Ukrainian soldiers and citizens are holed up in a steel mill but Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered troops not to storm the facility Putin is claiming victory in the port city aid is on its way to Ukraine: another $800 million in the form of Howitzer artillery cannons and tactical drones I've almost exhausted the drawdown authority I have that Congress authorized for Ukraine," President Biden said He plans to ask Congress for additional funding next week operating under the belief that weapons need to continue flowing into Ukraine "without interruption" to prepare for Russia's next phase of the war you can see the chronological progression about how the grave site appears to have expanded 2022: overview of the cemetery and the early expansion of graves 2022: overview of the cemetery and the expansion of new graves Become an NPR sponsor You don't have permissions to access this page It will most likely take many years to identify all those civilians who died during Russia’s assault on Mariupol – and we may never have a full account Many were killed during attacks or as a result of injuries for which they were unable to get treatment Others died in the weeks and months following Russia’s siege of the city because they did not have access to clean water or medicine Mariupol residents buried the bodies of their loved ones and strangers in shallow makeshift graves in their backyards and in grassy areas where children used to play Given the ongoing fighting and bombardment of the city many were unable to bring bodies to hospitals and city officials only managed to promptly collect a fraction of the bodies The remains of some victims were likely mixed in with the rubble of damaged and destroyed buildings never to be identified before demolition and reconstruction efforts began Still others may have been buried outside of Mariupol Some of those buried in makeshift graves were later transferred to official cemeteries in and around the city and videos of five of Mariupol’s cemeteries We estimate that at least 10,284 people died and were buried in these five cemeteries during the first year of the conflict We estimate that around 2,250 people would have died naturally in Mariupol during that time meaning the city had at least 8,034 excess deaths above a peacetime rate It is not clear how many of the people buried in these cemeteries were civilians – including those who died as a result of unlawful attacks – and how many were combatants With the city still under Russian occupation many witnesses to abuses committed during or after the fighting who remain in Mariupol cannot speak about their experiences without risking retaliation Physical evidence of crimes committed by Russian and affiliated forces has most likely disappeared or been destroyed or are still missing as a result of Russian forces’ battle for control of Mariupol against Ukrainian forces is unknown the bodies of civilians young and old were found throughout the city Others were entombed beneath the rubble of destroyed apartment complexes in which they had sought refuge We monitored the evolution and expansion between March 2022 and February 2023 of five cemeteries that served Mariupol: Starokrymske we compared the state of the same cemeteries for a one-year period prior to Russia's all-out invasion analyzing images captured between June 2018 and June 2019 authorities from the “DNR” began to clear the rubble removing bodies they found and taking them to a makeshift morgue and then for burial in the city’s cemeteries together with bodies exhumed from makeshift gravesites These are graves that appear to have been dug individually using very-high resolution satellite imagery These are rows that stretch for between 10 and 70 meters with small wooden plaques placed on the mound we assumed that each small plaque represented one body We geolocated drone footage and videos posted to social media and counted the average number of plaques per square meter of trenches We studied both grave types in each of the five cemeteries We then extrapolated the results to the remaining area in each cemetery We did not observe the use of trench-style graves to bury residents from Mariupol in any of the five cemeteries before the full-scale invasion began on February 24 1,893 Total new individual graves (Area: 16,848 m2) 6,687 Total new trench graves (Area: 34,287 m2) Most of the burials appear to have taken place in Starokrymske cemetery Mariupol's main burial ground located on the northwestern outskirts of the city We estimate that at least 8,580 people were buried in both individual and trench-style graves here between March 9 It is not clear whether any of those interred were combatants We observed a series of large expansions of the cemetery after May 2022 The first trench-style grave sites were visible on April 7 we observed heavy machinery digging trenches at the cemetery Burials between June 2018 and June 2019: 2,459 These are graves that appear to be dug individually we estimate that 864 people were buried in both individual and trench-style graves longer trenches within Vynohradne cemetery were first visible on satellite imagery at the end of March 2022 most of which were already visible on satellite imagery during the first week of March 2022 we counted 315 new individual graves as of October 12 and the cemetery did not expand until at least March 2023 Some pits dug at that time still appeared empty as of March 2023 We counted 45 new individual graves in the Pavlov Street cemetery all of which were dug between March 2022 and May 12 The number of new graves could be much higher We used the satellite image from May 2022 with the highest resolution but vegetation cover and acquisition angles impeded further analysis as people reburied bodies recovered from makeshift graves and buildings 10,284 is likely a significant underestimate of the total number of people who died in Mariupol during this period It is also unclear how many of these people were civilians and how many were combatants Some of the gravesites we identified may have contained multiple bodies Some people may have died outside of the city after they managed to evacuate Others buried in makeshift graves in the city may have never been transferred to larger cemeteries Many bodies may have remained in the rubble of buildings or may never be found We encountered major limitations in our analysis due to the remote nature of our research Countless people who lost loved ones – spouses and neighbors – continue to look for their bodies in vain with no knowledge of if or where they were buried Join us to make a difference in Ukraine’s war-torn landscape and engage with human rights organizations Act now → Download selected archive Reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Lviv and Emma Farge in Geneva Link IconCopy linkFacebook LogoShare on FacebookXShare on XEmailShare via EmailLink copied to clipboardPutin claims victory in Mariupol but won’t storm the steel plant there “The completion of combat work to liberate Mariupol is a success,” Putin said in an appearance with his defense minister Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory Thursday in the battle for Mariupol despite an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters still holed up at a giant steel mill ordering his troops not to storm the stronghold but to seal it off “so that not even a fly comes through.” Putin expressed concern for the lives of Russian troops in deciding against sending them in to clear out the sprawling Azovstal plant where the die-hard defenders were hiding in a maze of underground passageways Putin’s comments came as satellite image provider Maxar Technologies released photos showing more than 200 of what it called new mass graves in a town where Ukrainian officials say the Russians have been burying Mariupol residents killed in the fighting The imagery shows long rows of graves stretching away from an existing cemetery in the town of Manhush Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko accused the Russians of “hiding their military crimes” by taking the bodies of civilians from the city and burying them in Manhush As many as 9,000 civilians could be buried in mass graves in Manhush the Mariupol City Council said Thursday in a post on the Telegram messaging app Boychenko labeled Russian actions in the city as “the new Babi Yar,” a reference to the site of multiple Nazi massacres in which nearly 34,000 Ukrainian Jews were killed in 1941 Maxar said a review of previous images indicates that the new graves were dug in late March and expanded over the past couple of weeks After nearly two lethal months of bombardment that largely reduced Mariupol to a smoking ruin Russian forces appear to control the rest of the strategic southern city including its vital but now badly damaged port have stubbornly held out for weeks at the steel plant despite a pummeling from Russian forces and repeated demands for their surrender About 1,000 civilians were also trapped there Instead of sending troops to finish off the defenders in a potentially bloody frontal assault Russia apparently intends to maintain the siege and wait for the fighters to surrender when they run out of food or ammunition Boychenko rejected any notion that Mariupol had fallen into Russian hands The capture of Mariupol would represent the Kremlin’s biggest victory yet of the war in Ukraine It would help Moscow secure more of the coastline complete a land bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula and free up more forces to join the larger and potentially more consequential battle now underway for Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland At a joint appearance with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu “The completion of combat work to liberate Mariupol is a success,” and he offered congratulations to Shoigu Shoigu predicted the steel plant could be taken in three to four days but Putin said that would be “pointless” and would risk Russian lives “There is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities,” the Russian leader said “Block off this industrial area so that not even a fly comes through.” The plant covers 4 square miles and is threaded with some 15 miles of tunnels and bunkers “The Russian agenda now is not to capture these really difficult places where the Ukrainians can hold out in the urban centers but to try and capture territory and also to encircle the Ukrainian forces and declare a huge victory,” retired British Rear Adm Russian officials for weeks have said capturing the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas is the war’s main objective Moscow’s forces opened the new phase of the fighting this week along a 300-mile (480-kilometer) front from the northeastern city of Kharkiv to the Azov Sea While Russia continued heavy air and artillery attacks in those areas it did not appear to gain any significant ground over the past few days who said Moscow’s forces were still ramping up the offensive » READ MORE: Biden announces additional $800 million in military assistance for Ukraine speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon’s assessment said the Ukrainians were hindering the Russian effort to push south from Izyum Rockets struck a neighborhood of Kharkiv on Thursday and at least two civilians were burned to death in their car A school and a residential building were also hit and firefighters tried to put out a blaze and search for anyone trapped rushed to pour heavy weapons into Ukraine to help it counter the offensive in the east President Joe Biden announced an additional $800 million in military assistance But he also warned that the $13.6 billion approved last month by Congress for military and humanitarian aid is “almost exhausted” and more will be needed more than 100,000 people were believed trapped with little or no food which had a prewar population of about 430,000 Over 20,000 people have been killed in the siege » READ MORE: Ukraine war refugees top 5 million as Russian assault intensifies The city has seized worldwide attention as the scene of some of the worst suffering of the war including deadly airstrikes on a maternity hospital and a theater Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of launching attacks to block civilian evacuations from the city at least two Russian attacks hit the city of Zaporizhzhia Britain’s Defense Ministry said that Russia probably wants to demonstrate significant successes ahead of Victory Day on May 9 marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II “This could affect how quickly and forcefully they attempt to conduct operations in the run-up to this date,” the ministry said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Ukrainians living in areas of southern Ukraine under Russian control not to provide Russians with their IDs which he said could be used “to falsify a so-called referendum on our land” to create a Moscow-friendly government “This is a real possibility,” he said in his nightly video address to the nation In the continuing war of sanctions and countersanctions between Russia and the West tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg and 27 other prominent Americans The move was a response to “ever-widening anti-Russian sanctions” by the Biden administration and targeted people it said were shaping a “Russophobic narrative.” Similar restrictions were imposed on 61 Canadians despite the presence of an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters who were still holed up at a giant steel mill Putin ordered his troops not to storm the stronghold but to seal it off "so that not even a fly comes through." Satellite image provider Maxar Technologies released the photos which it said showed more than 200 mass graves in a town where Ukrainian officials say the Russians have been burying Mariupol residents killed in the fighting The imagery showed long rows of graves stretching away from an existing cemetery in the town of Manhush Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko accused the Russians of "hiding their military crimes" by taking the bodies of civilians from the city and burying them in Manhush The graves could hold as many as 9,000 dead Boychenko labeled Russian actions in the city as "the new Babi Yar," a reference to the site of multiple Nazi massacres in which nearly 34,000 Ukrainian Jews were killed in 1941 There was no immediate reaction from the Kremlin When mass graves and hundreds of dead civilians were discovered in Bucha and other towns around Kyiv after Russian troops retreated three weeks ago Russian officials denied that their soldiers killed any civilians there and accused Ukraine of staging the atrocities Maxar said a review of previous images indicates that the graves in Manhush were dug in late March and expanded in recent weeks despite a pummeling from Russian forces and repeated demands for their surrender is and remains Ukrainian," he declared The capture of Mariupol would represent the Kremlin's biggest victory yet of the war in Ukraine and free up more forces to join the larger and potentially more consequential battle now underway for Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland Putin expressed concern for the lives of Russian troops in deciding against sending them in to clear out the sprawling Azovstal steel plant "The completion of combat work to liberate Mariupol is a success," and he offered congratulations to Shoigu but Putin said that would be "pointless." "There is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities," the Russian leader said "Block off this industrial area so that not even a fly comes through." The plant covers 11 square kilometers (4 square miles) and is threaded with some 24 kilometers (15 miles) of tunnels and bunkers Russian officials for weeks have said capturing the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas is the war's main objective Moscow's forces opened the new phase of the fighting this week along a 300-mile (480-kilometer) front from the northeastern city of Kharkiv to the Azov Sea who said Moscow's forces were still ramping up the offensive speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon's assessment Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Russian troops kidnapped a local official heading up a humanitarian convoy in the southern Kherson region She said the Russians offered to free him in exchange for Russian prisoners of war but she characterized that as unacceptable But he also warned that the $13.6 billion approved last month by Congress for military and humanitarian aid is "almost exhausted" and more will be needed Among those who arrived in Zaporizhzhia after fleeing Mariupol were Yuriy and Polina Lulac who spent nearly two months living in a basement with at least a dozen other people There was no running water and little food In the courtyards there are just graves and crosses," Lulac said The Red Cross said it expected to to evacuate 1,500 people by bus but that the Russians allowed only a few dozen to leave and pulled some people off of the buses Dmitriy Antipenko said he lived mostly in a basement with his wife and father-in-law amid death and destruction and we buried seven people there," Antipenko said Which Cricket team will win the IPL 2025 trophy By JACK NEWMAN and RACHAEL BUNYAN FOR MAILONLINE Russian forces are continuing to bomb the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol where Ukrainian fighters are holed up despite Vladimir Putin calling off the offensive and ordering all routes out of the site to be sealed off said on Friday 'every day they drop several bombs on Azovstal despite false promises not to touch the defenders' Defiant Ukrainian soldiers holed up in the steelworks are still refusing to surrender Mariupol despite being surrounded by Russian forces as the bodies of dead civilians continue to pile up It comes as local officials said apparent mass graves revealed in satellite images taken near the besieged city could contain 9,000 bodies of Ukrainian civilians but Andrysushchenko warned there could be far more released by US company Maxar Technologies on Thursday showed more than 200 mass graves in long rows in the town of Manhush Andryushchenko said local residents reported that Russian forces were using mobile crematoria at two locations as the Mariupol city council said the number of bodies buried in the graves could be up to 9,000 Mariupol’s mayor Vadym Boychenko accused the Russians of 'hiding their military crimes' by taking the bodies of civilians from the city and burying them in Manhush Boychenko labelled Russian actions in the city as 'the new Babi Yar' a reference to the site of multiple Nazi massacres in which nearly 34,000 Ukrainian Jews were killed in 1941 'The bodies of the dead were being brought by the truckload and actually simply being dumped in mounds,' Andryushchenko said Russia claimed yesterday it had 'liberated' the besieged port city as Putin savagely ordered the military to seal off all routes out of the plant 'so that even a fly cannot pass through' effectively condemning those inside to their deaths Captain Svyatoslav Palamar from the Azov Battalion insisted: 'I always say that as long as we are here Mariupol remains under control of Ukraine.' He described the chilling sight inside Azovstal and its labyrinthine tunnels where scores of dead civilians are trapped in bunkers and under collapsed buildings after taking refuge there from the constant shelling A pro-Russian troop stands in front of the destroyed administration building of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol where hundreds of Ukrainians are trapped shows a cemetery on the outskirts of Mariupol A large empty field can be seen nearby the graves on the right clearly shows several rows of freshly-dug mass graves running along the length of the field by the cemetery Thousands of civilians are believed to have died in Mariupol after eight weeks of constant Russian bombardment Local officials said apparent mass graves revealed in satellite images taken near the besieged city could contain 9,000 bodies of Ukrainian civilians Pictured: A handout satellite image claims to show a mass grave site adjacent to an existing village cemetery on the northwestern edge of Manhush on April 3 Robot VS humans: Robot attacks engineer during testing British expat murdered in France filmed dancing care-free with lover Moment terrorism suspect is dragged by Police in Swindon high street Plane crash survivors spend 36 hours in alligator infested swamp Brit wakes up with Chinese accent after stroke Moment Iranian father brutally stabs his 18-year-old daughter Is this the moment neighbour complains about Beckham's raucous 50th Moment models flee Lamborghini boat after it sinks in Miami Terrifying moment wobbling RyanAir flight is forced to abort landing Terrifying moment masked thugs try to smash family's door down Journalist Tina Brown says Prince Harry never said 'I'm sorry' Rare 'living fossil' goblin shark appears off Gran Canaria coast Russian military vehicles move on a highway in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces near Mariupol Palamar's comments are the first to emerge from inside the steelworks the last remaining bastion of resistance in the city which has been razed to the ground Mariupol remains under control of Ukraine' Russian President Vladimir Putin holds an online meeting of Russia's Security Council in Moscow today as he continues his assault Volodymyr Zelensky echoed the remarks in an overnight address saying Mariupol 'continues to resist' the invading forces Palamar's comments are the first to emerge from Inside the steelworks The soldier told the BBC: 'All the buildings in the territory of Azovstal are practically destroyed bunker-busting bombs which cause huge destruction We have wounded and dead inside the bunkers Some civilians remain trapped under the collapsed buildings.' Palamar said the civilians are in separate basements to the fighters as he claimed there were 'enough to repel attacks' stationed inside Some buildings inside the plant have been destroyed by shelling meaning soldiers are unable to reach the trapped civilians with entrances blocked by huge immovable concrete slabs He said: 'We keep in touch with those civilians who stay in places that we can get to We know that there are small children there as young as three months old.' The Azov fighter desperately appealed for safe evacuation routes out of the steelworks and urged a third country to act as a guarantor to ensure their safety after Russians repeatedly broke agreed ceasefires The neo-Nazi Azov battalion formed as a volunteer paramilitary militia in 2014 to fight Russians in the Donbas and has been accused of its own war crimes But in a last ditch battle to defend Azovstal the Ukrainian marines joined forces with the far-right fighters President Vladimir Putin hailed the 'liberation' of Mariupol as a 'success' for Russian forces 'There is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities Block off this industrial area so that not even a fly can escape,' Putin said The British Ministry of Defence said today: 'Putin's decision to blockade the Azovstal steel plant likely indicates a desire to contain Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol and free up Russian forces to be deployed elsewhere in eastern Ukraine.'  There are at least 500 wounded soldiers inside the plant needing medication and surgery including amputations while a number of elderly civilians are also in need of urgent treatment essential medicine,' Ukraine's foreign ministry said Zelensky added last night: 'In the south and east of our country the occupiers continue to do everything to have a reason to talk about at least some victories including fighters of the Chechen special forces unit stand in front of the destroyed administration building of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works Fighters of the Chechen special forces unit led by Russia's State Duma member Adam Delimkhanov People walk past cars damaged during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol An armoured convoy of pro-Russian troops waving Russian flags moves towards Mariupol yesterday which Putin claims he has 'liberated' Local residents stand near emergency management specialists who transport the bodies of civilians killed in the city 'They can only delay the inevitable - the time when the invaders will have to leave our territory Meanwhile, fresh satellite footage has revealed the extent of the carnage wrought by Putin's forces in the city appears to show a dramatic expansion of mass graves which were dug on the edge of the port city in March to accommodate the victims of Russia's indiscriminate bombing campaigns Analysis of a series of images taken from mid-March to mid-April suggests the site which lies just 12 miles from the centre of Mariupol Mariupol city council said up to 9,000 bodies could be buried there three school buses carrying evacuees arrived in the city of Zaporizhzhia after leaving Mariupol and crossing through Russian-held territory 'I don't want to hear any more bombing,' said Tatiana Dorash who arrived with her six-year-old son Maxim She said all they wanted now was a quiet night and 'a bed to sleep in' Ukrainian officials had hoped to evacuate many more civilians but accused Russian forces of targeting a route used by fleeing civilians 'We apologise to the people of Mariupol who waited for evacuation today with no result,' Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshuk said on Telegram 'Shelling started near the collection point as long as we have at least some opportunity we will not give up trying to get you out of there The mayor of Mariupol made a new appeal today for the 'full evacuation' of the city 'We need only one thing - the full evacuation of the population About 100,000 people remain in Mariupol,' Mayor Vadym Boichenko said on national television did not provide any update on any fighting in or around the city on the Sea of Azov. but said that Russian forces are making a 'mockery' of those left Boichenko told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that Putin alone can decide the fate of the civilians still trapped in Mariupol Boichenko has said tens of thousands of residents have been killed The city, which was a bustling metropolis home to some 400,000 people prior to Russia's invasion in late February has been utterly obliterated by eight weeks of constant bombardment shows the expansion of the mass grave site in progress Weeks before the horrors of Bucha and other towns north of Kyiv were discovered when Russian forces withdrew in early April the citizens of Mariupol had already been forced to excavate vast swathes of land to clear their streets of the bodies A local resident pushes a dog in a pram past a building destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol Emergency management specialists transport the body of a person killed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol Dozens rescued after luxurious Lamborghini boat sinks off Miami coast Dead bodies are placed into a mass grave on the outskirts of Mariupol as people cannot bury their dead because of heavy shelling by Russian forces Putin today cruelly instructed his defence minister to command troops to seal off all routes out of the Azovstal steel plant - effectively condemning the Ukrainian fighters and civilians trapped within to a slow and painful death from thirst A satellite image taken on March 19 shows a large field on the outskirts of Mariupol completely bare shows several rows of freshly-dug graves stretching across the length of the field symbolising the brutality of Russia's war in Ukraine and the sheer extent of the civilian casualties Russia launched a savage campaign of air and missile attacks on Mariupol just days after the invasion began - a tactic its forces have continued without reprieve ever since The port's strategic significance meant it quickly became a high priority target for Russia in the early days of the war Mariupol is the biggest Ukrainian city on the Sea of Azov and the main port serving the industries and agriculture of eastern Ukraine it was the biggest city still held by Ukrainian authorities in Luhansk or Donetsk the two eastern provinces known as the Donbas that Moscow has demanded Ukraine cede to pro-Russian separatists Control of Mariupol means Russia commands the entire coastline of the Sea of Azov and has a secure overland route linking the Crimean peninsula with mainland Russia and the parts of eastern Ukraine held by separatists It links up two of the main axes of Russia's invasion and frees Russian forces to join the main offensive being waged against the bulk of Ukraine's army in the east The city's capture has both strategic and symbolic importance boosting Putin's hopes to demonstrate major success by Russia's Victory Day on May 9 with operations set to ramp up to coincide with the celebrations But if Putin's forces eventually erase all resistance in the port and claim it as their own they will be left with a smouldering shell of a city Mariupol's mayor Vadym Boychenko said earlier this month that more than 90 per cent of the urban centre's infrastructure has been damaged with more than 40 per cent 'unrecoverable' Boychenko also said more than 10,000 civilians are believed to have died in the Russian attacks Investigations are on-going into war crimes in the city with two attacks - one on a maternity ward and another on a theatre where hundreds of civilians were taking shelter at the time - of particular focus After Defence Minister Shoigu (pictured right today) told Vladimir Putin (pictured left) that Russia's forces controlled the city - apart from the Azovstal steel plant - the Russian president hailed the 'successful liberation' of Mariupol President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered the Russian military to cancel plans to storm a Mariupol steelworks Pictured: Smoke rises above Azovstal steelworks in this still image obtained from a recent drone video posted on social media  Putin's troops were ordered to shoot civilians in the city if they do not wear white ribbons on their clothes Russia was accused of forcing civilians to wear the white ribbons so that they become 'bait' for Ukrainian snipers - and in turn help Putin's men find out where the snipers are hidden said on Telegram: 'The occupiers no longer 'mildly' propose that civilians wear white ribbons to mark themselves out - they have turned to direct threats to open fire on anyone seen on the street without such ribbons 'Russians are gradually turning the city into a true ghetto for Ukrainians at the same time using civilians as bait to detect hotspots.' The disturbing development came as Zelensky said he was ready to swap Russian prisoners of war in exchange for the safe passage of civilians and Ukrainian troops who remain in Mariupol the grim task of exhuming and cataloguing bodies left behind after Russia's withdrawal continued said he was 'shocked to witness the horror and atrocities of Putin's war' Ukrainian officials say more than 1,000 civilians bodies have been retrieved from areas around the capital and they are working with French investigators to document alleged war crimes 'It's all being investigated,' Oleksandr Pavliuk head of the Kyiv regional military administration told reporters 'There is no final number of civilians killed.' 'The forensic experts are now examining the bodies but what we saw was hands tied behind the back their legs tied and shot through the limbs and in the back of the head,' he said And US private satellite imagery website Maxar released photos that it said showed a 'mass grave' on the northwestern edge of Manhush The violence has displaced more than 7.7 million people internally with over five million fleeing to other countries in Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II But returns have also accelerated in recent weeks according to a spokesman for Kyiv's border force returnees must sign waivers acknowledging the risk of death or maiming by leftover munitions Olena Klymenko was willing to take the risk and return to the site of her destroyed home as de-mining efforts continued in the village This is unbelievable evil and the world is bearing.. The comments below have not been moderated We are no longer accepting comments on this article The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group Google Maps updated satellite imagery of the temporarily occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol revealing rows upon rows of razed buildings and mass graves The map also showed evidence of previously unknown mass burial sites particularly in the Vynohradne and Manhush areas "The [grave sites] are visually larger in size than the mass graves in Vynohradne or Manhush. The Novotroitske cemetery was closed and under the control of the occupiers for a long enough time (approximately until mid-July)," he wrote in a post on Telegram Andryushchenko noted that it is unclear when the mass graves were dug up and who is buried in them but vowed that they would work out the "whole truth" after Russian forces are pushed out of the region "We do not reduce the activity of monitoring and obtaining information about Russian crimes in Mariupol for even a minute until the last criminal of the occupiers is punished," he added staring at the devastation and clicking on pins of places that used to be instead of today's ruins," he wrote in the caption Mariupol was one of the first cities Russia attacked when it invaded Ukraine in February 2022 What followed after was a three-month siege that saw the city come under intense shelling The city surrendered in May 2022 and remains under Russian occupation