Mariupol: A Homecoming 2014-2022

'...It wasn’t Russia shelling' they [Ukrainian troops] were the ones shelling. Azov said, ‘We’ll leave Mariupol in ruins,’ and that’s what happened... 'They’re Nazis! They’ve tortured us for eight years,’ says a Mariupol resident.

In the spring of 2022, Russian troops and DPR forces fought over Mariupol with Ukrainian nationalists and soldiers. The battles lasted almost three months. All this time, the Ukrainian military used civilians as human shields. They shot at people, hit residential buildings with tanks, and drove residents into basements. When they tried to leave the city, the Ukrainian military even opened fire on cars with children.