AUTHORITIES IN MARIUPOL URGED TURKEY TO EVACUATE 86 TURKS, INCLUDING 34 CHILDREN TRAPPED IN THE MOSQUE

Fri 11 March 2022:

Piotr Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol Mayor wrote on his Facebook page that Turkish citizens are now hiding in a mosque in Mariupol due to Russian forces shelling.

“Mariupol. Right now, 86 Turkish citizens are hiding in a shelter on the territory of the mosque. 34 of them are children. And right now the Russian army is shelling from the area of the village of Shirokaya Balka in the direction of the city (without a break from six in the morning). The direction of shelling – including on the building of the mosque.

A logical question arises, does Mr. Erdogan know that in these minutes the paths can destroy 86 of his fellow citizens? But will the leader of the nation calmly observe the inhumane destruction of Turkish citizens, limiting himself to the guarantee of meaningless negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine?” – said the adviser to the mayor.

He called on the Ukrainian media to help convey this information to the Turkish media.

“Maybe Erdogan and the citizens of Turkey just don’t know? And maybe, in the end, we’ll somehow start saving our citizens together?” Andryushchenko wrote.

Mariupol is the largest port city on the coast of the Sea of Azov, now about 400 thousand people live in it. The fighting for the city has been going on since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

The Ukrainian Embassy in Ankara said on Friday there are 86 Turkish citizens sheltering in a mosque in the besieged southern Ukrainian port of Mairupol, as Russian forces continue shelling the city.

Citing local authorities, the embassy said Russian forces had been shelling the city, including the mosque, since the early morning hours. It said 34 of the Turkish citizens hiding there were children.