The full-scale Russian invasion became a tragedy for Mariupol and its inhabitants. The thriving port city on the shores of the Sea of Azov was wiped off the face of the earth by Russian artillery and aviation. Russians shelled residential quarters of the city around the clock, laying siege to it. The exact number of casualties from Russian shelling is unknown, but the bodies of slain civilians were buried in mass graves even in parks and on the outskirts of the city. Approximate estimates suggest that over 25,000 civilians could have fallen victim to the Russian attack, a shocking statistic that vividly reflects the brutal nature of Putin's Russia.
The "Tribunal for Putin" initiative, established on the basis of the Kharkiv Human Rights Group, has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court in The Hague regarding the genocide of Mariupol's peaceful residents perpetrated by Russian forces. According to its director, Yevgeny Zakharov, the necessary evidence began to accumulate as early as the spring of 2022, during the most tragic days for Mariupol when hundreds of thousands of defenseless residents became victims of Russian aggression. Building such evidence was not an easy task: on the first day of the war, the city was isolated by Russians, and as of March 2, 2022, the city was cut off from communication. The facts were gathered from the testimonies of Mariupol residents who managed to escape the hell imposed by the Russians. Thanks to them, comprehensive evidence of numerous war crimes has been collected, including executions and torture of citizens, systematic destruction of residential buildings, forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, and more. A glaring example was the bombing of the Mariupol Drama Theatre on March 16, 2022: the pilot knew that civilians, including children, were hiding inside, yet still dropped a cluster bomb. As a result of this war crime, at least 300 people lost their lives. Mariupol has become the embodiment of the tragedy of the Ukrainian people, made even more horrific by the fact that it occurred in the 21st century, near the EU.
The tragedy that unfolded in Mariupol is undoubtedly evidence of the genocide of the Ukrainian people, initiated by Putin on February 24, 2022. The horrific events that took place in the city represent a horrifying algorithm for the destruction of everything related to Ukraine: defenseless citizens were killed, often with carpet bombings of entire city blocks. Those who managed to escape to Russia were subjected to harsh interrogations in filtration camps. Investigators from the so-called DNR distinguished themselves with torture and psychological pressure on the residents of Mariupol, who are from the same Donetsk region. Children who were taken away by the occupiers were told an alternative, pro-Russian version of events, with distorted values of the "Russian world." Tens of thousands of Mariupol residents trapped in the blockade had no access to food, drinking water, or medicine. During breaks between shelling, people would emerge from basements and search for something edible in trash heaps, melting snow and ice to get some water for the children.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague will receive the necessary evidence to recognize Russian military crimes in Ukraine as a genocide of the Ukrainian people. This is a compelling argument in favor of further isolating the Russian Federation, whose policies and propaganda officially call for the killing of Ukrainians and later Europeans. This serves as a warning to Europe and a reminder that peace and prosperity in the EU exist only until Russia arrives, and the Ukrainian army is the only factor preventing this. Ukraine must receive everything it needs to defeat Russia, after which everyone involved in the genocide of Ukrainians will be held accountable at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, similar to Nazi war criminals.
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