On March 5, Russian-language media «Аргументы и Факты» [Arguments and Facts] (aif.ru), vesti.ru, and gazeta.ru reported that the Ukrainian side, in particular the Azov Battalion, had bombed a residential building in Mariupol. The articles disseminated by the above-mentioned media outlets cited the leader of the “Donetsk People’s Republic,” Denis Pushilin, as their primary source.
The same information has also been spread in English by Hezbollah-linked media outlet almayadeen.net. Notably, articles by aif.ru and al mayadeen are accompanied by photos of the bombed building.
The claim disseminated in the Russian media that the Azov Battalion bombed the residential building in Mariupol is false. In fact, Russia has been carrying out a military attack on Mariupol for several days now, targeting the civilian infrastructure.
The city of Mariupol is facing a humanitarian catastrophe as a result of intense bombardment. For five days, Mariupol was under fire from Russian artillery; in addition, the city was left without heating, water and electricity. The attack by Russian rocket launchers caused special damage to the Levoberezhny district, where 170,000 people live.
The civilian population is threatened not by the Ukrainian armed forces or the Azov Battalion but by Russia. According to Deutsche Welle, Reuters, BBC, and many other authoritative media, residential buildings in Mariupol were destroyed as a result of the attack by the Russian side. Despite the ceasefire agreement, the population was not evacuated on March 5th, as people are unable to move as Russian armed forces continue to bomb the city.
The photo that was used by aif.ru as evidence of the Azov Battalion’s attack on a residential building in Mariupol, in fact, belongs to Reuters. The photo is also available in a BBC article stating that citizens say the Russian side destroyed the building. The incident took place after a ceasefire was promised. The incident caused chaos in the evacuation of citizens, and part of the people turned back from the so-called green corridor.
As for the second photo published by al mayadeen, instead of Mariupol, it actually depicts Kharkiv and shows the ruins of Kharkiv University, which was hit by a Russian rocket on March 2nd. Notably, mayadeen is an Arab media outlet linked to Hezbollah, for which Kremlin-affiliated Bulgarian journalist Diliana Gaitanjieva has prepared a disinformation story about Lugar’s laboratory.
The Russians actively try to blame Ukraine for its crimes, claiming that Ukraine is jeopardizing the population, not allowing evacuations and using them as shields, when in fact, the city is under siege, and the Russian armed forces are destroying the civilian infrastructure.
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