Residents of Mariupol used to regard themselves as immune to the turmoil enveloping southern Ukraine after they saw off pro-Russian separatists eight years ago.
¡°We Mariupol people thought we¡¯d smelled the gunpowder in 2014 and seen a lot,¡± said Ivan Goltvenko, director of personnel and administration at the city¡¯s Metinvest-owned Azovstal steel plant. ¡°But guess what ¡ª we were wrong.¡±
Now, their city lies in ruins, civilians are buried in makeshift graves, and Mariupol has become a symbol of the devastation of Russian President Vladimir Putin¡¯s decision to go to war with his neighbor.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.