The Siege of Mariupol

A thriving port city of almost 500,000 now lies in total ruin, practically wiped off the face of the Earth. Why?

The day everything changed, never to go back

On February 24, 2022, the world watched in shock and horror as Russia invaded Ukraine, escalating a regional conflict that had been on and off since 2014 into the world's largest land war since World War Two.

The city of Mariupol, sitting on the coast of the Sea of Azov on the Kalmius River, was targeted right away. A port city, Mariupol was vital to the Ukrainian economy before the war began. A hub of industry and trade, the city also has a deeply historic, cultural identity about it, with various landmarks such as the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theater calling Mariupol home.

However, the Russian military would eventually lay siege to the city, decimating it beyond recognition and finally capturing it on May 20th, 2022. The city has remained under Russian occupational government since.

The specific places that tell the story

While the destruction was not limited to any specific spot in Mariupol, there are a few places that providein-depth, direct views at the scale of damage and death wrought upon the city.

Teatral'na Ploshcha (Theater Square)

The Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theater (mentioned above) was located in the heart of the city in a square-like structure, surrounded by a gazebo and fountains.

During the siege, the theater came to be used as a bomb shelter by civilians of Mariupol. As the Russian bombardment intensified, more and more civilians (including children) began packing themselves into the theater.

Satellite imagery of the theater during its use as a shelter clearly shows large white lettering painted onto the ground in front of the western entrance to the theater. The lettering reads дети ("deti"), which means children in Russian. Clearly, those hiding inside felt it necessary to inform Russian bomber pilots flying overhead that there were children in the theater.

However, on March 16th, 2022, the theater was bombed and destroyed. The death toll has not been independently verified, but  various sources  put it anywhere from 300 to 600 dead, including children. Before and after satellite images reveal the scale of destruction wrought upon the theater by a 500 kilogram bomb:

Azovstal' Steel Mill

On the southern edge of the city, right on the edge of the sea, lies Azovstal', a sprawling steel-working complex that spans approximately 4 square miles. During the siege, the 15-mile stretch of winding tunnels and bunkers underneath the complex became an encampment for fighters of the last Ukrainian armed force within the city, the Azov Regiment (a formerly paramilitary group with far-right/neo-Nazi tendencies that have since been  reformed ).

The approximately 2000 Azov soldiers holed up in the dark tunnels of the steel plant along with hundreds of civilians surrendered to the Russian onslaught on May 20th, finally ending the siege of Mariupol with the city's capture by Russia. The steel works, formerly a hulking pillar of Ukrainian industry, had been reduced to a moonscape. (Detailed testimony by Azovstal' survivors can be found  here .)

Staryi Krym cemetery

Approximately 5 miles northwest of Mariupol's city center lies the suburban settlement of Staryi Krym. Here, Google Earth's historical imagery feature combines with its polygon feature to reveal a heartbreaking image: unmarked mass graves added to the town cemetery after the beginning of the siege.

The Russian pattern of advance north of Mariupol and the bombardment of residential living structures leaves little doubt as to the reason for the creation of these graves. Innocent civilians, killed by indiscriminate and constant Russian shelling, were eventually recovered by Russian soldiers and hastily buried at the new graves of Staryi Krym.

The toll: both material and human

Figure 7. Residential area in eastern Mariupol in 2021. Image source:  The Guardian. 

The sheer scale of the siege of Mariupol cannot be fully appreciated until the tangible damage and human suffering are taken into account. The most important victims of the siege are, after all, the civilian people of the city (and by extension, the city's infrastructure as well).

The Russian military strategy surrounding Mariupol generally consisted of massive, mostly indiscriminate shelling of all quarters of the city.

Figure 8. Same eastern Mariupol residential area, now in 2023. Image source:  The Guardian. 

Over time, those tactics would result in scenes like the one visible in the image to the right. According to UN estimates provided by  The Guardian,  over 90% of Mariupol's multi-story residential buildings (e.g. the apartment complexes visible to the right) were damaged or destroyed during the siege, while 46% of Mariupol's buildings in total were damaged or destroyed. Essentially, Mariupol as a city was wiped off the map in just a few brutal months of siege.

The direct human toll is also a major piece of the puzzle of Mariupol. Reports of people dying while trapped in the city, whether as a direct result of Russian military action (the theater, etc.) or simply due to freezing/starving due to the total isolation of the city during the siege are widespread and well-documented. However, there is another dimension to the human cost of the siege.

The "filtration" (a term Russia uses to describe forced transfer that is not all that accurate) of Ukrainian civilians from war-torn parts of the country (Mariupol in specific) into Russian territory has, since the start of the war in February 2022, been an ongoing process. According to  Human Rights Watch,  anywhere from 1.2 million (the number given by Ukraine's deputy prime minister) to 2.8 million Ukrainian civilians (the number given by Russian state media) have been transferred to Russia. This amounts to a war crime (as do many of Russia's actions concerning Mariupol, including the  theater ) by the Russian government, but is sadly very hard to undo. Many of the Ukrainians taken to Russian territory were either forced to forfeit their Ukrainian identification documents in favor of Russian ones, or simply left them behind when they were taken. This makes it incredibly difficult both to quantify the effects of "filtration" and return people to their homes, belongings, and lives as they knew them.

Figure 9. Representation of one of many possible "filtration routes" taken by Ukrainian civilians (this one from Mariupol to Taganrog, a Russian city 65 miles from Mariupol). Path created using Google Earth Pro's path feature.

Why Mariupol?

Both sides of the conflict poured a great deal of effort into the situation around Mariupol, making it one of the most hotly contested major settlements of the war date. Because of its geographic and geologic location, Mariupol takes on incredible military and strategic importance for both Ukraine and Russia.

Geographically, Mariupol is positioned as a land bridge between Crimea (which Russia annexed illegally in 2014) and the rest of the Donbas (Ukraine's industrial heartland in the eastern part of the country). Its location on the coast makes it even more valuable as a port city, and its capture allows Russia the freedom to launch new assaults westward, further into Ukrainian territory.

Figure 10. Military strategic assessment of Russian perspectives post-Mariupol. Image source:  BBC. 

Geologically, Mariupol and the area around it is blessed with great mineral wealth, including iron ore, coal deposits, kaolin/ball clays, and other metals such as  gallium, titanium, and lithium.  In general, eastern Ukraine's stock of valuable natural commodities makes it a coveted prize, with Mariupol as its crown jewel.

Figure 11. Map of Ukraine depicting distribution of mineral deposits. Image taken from  Wikimedia Commons.  Author: Zbigniew Dylewski.

A dead city

Ultimately, the story of the siege of Mariupol is a harrowing tale of untold destruction, suffering, and, essentially, death. A once beautiful, proud city is now unrecognizable, barely existing under Russian occupation. A Mariupol man's quote about his 8-year-old nephew and his diary, taken from an  NBC News article,  summarizes the pain of a city: “A small boy wrote that his city has died. That’s all.”

Figure 7. Residential area in eastern Mariupol in 2021. Image source:  The Guardian. 

Figure 8. Same eastern Mariupol residential area, now in 2023. Image source:  The Guardian. 

Figure 9. Representation of one of many possible "filtration routes" taken by Ukrainian civilians (this one from Mariupol to Taganrog, a Russian city 65 miles from Mariupol). Path created using Google Earth Pro's path feature.

Figure 10. Military strategic assessment of Russian perspectives post-Mariupol. Image source:  BBC. 

Figure 11. Map of Ukraine depicting distribution of mineral deposits. Image taken from  Wikimedia Commons.  Author: Zbigniew Dylewski.