Ukrainian city Mariupol’s Mayor calls citizens "great heroes”, US arraigns Russia's media crackdown

Picture Courtesy: NDTV

The Mayor of southern Ukrainian city Mariupol, Vadym Boychenko said that Wednesday was the most difficult day yet of the Russian invasion. His statement comes after continuous shelling by Russians leading to numbers of wounded civilians in hospitals.

He made the statement on Telegram saying that the Ukrainian forces have fought bravely against those who were shooting at homes. His statement read, “And you dear citizens of Mariupol are great heroes. All of us are fighting for our freedom, for our country, for our one-and-only Mariupol. We aren’t attacking anyone. We are simply sitting at home. That means God is with us. That means truth is with us. That means victory will be on our side.”

In his statement he also thanked doctors, utility service workers, Ukrainian armed forces and all citizens. He said, “Together we really will survive this. We will be victorious. I think we deserve it. We are Ukrainians. We love our country. We love our city. Glory to the heroes! Glory to Ukraine!”

As per early Wednesday morning reports, there were 128 people in Mariupol hospitals.

The US State Department on the other hand, criticized the Kremlin on Wednesday for cracking down on Russian media and for its disinformation campaign on the invasion of Ukraine.

Ned Price, the spokesperson of US State Department said in a statement, “At home, the Kremlin is engaged in a full assault on media freedom and the truth, and Moscow’s efforts to mislead and suppress the truth of the brutal invasion are intensifying”