A Ukrainian marine commander, Maj. Serhii Volyna, sends an open letter to Pope Francis, saying that Mariupol is “hell on earth.”
The commander of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, appeals Pope Francis to save the remaining people in the city under attack.
The letter was published on the Pravda website. It wrote, “I have not seen your appeals to the world and I have not read all your last statements, I have been fighting for more than 50 days in complete encirclement and all I have time for is a fierce battle for every meter of a city encircled by the enemy.”
The officer was ready to fight till the end, despite rocket fire, lack of necessities, and water, He said, “You have probably seen a lot in your life. But I am sure that you have never seen what is happening in Mariupol. Because that’s what hell on earth looks like. I have little time to describe all the horrors I see here every day. At the plant [Azovstal], women with children and babies live in bunkers. In hunger and cold. Every day being targeted by the enemy aviation. The wounded die every day because there is no medicine, no water, no food.”
There was a theatre in Mariupol, which was hit by a Russian strike in March while being used as a civilian refuge.
He said, “The time has come when praying is not enough.”
He added, “Help to save them. After the bombing of the drama theater, no one believes the Russian occupiers. Bring the truth to the world, evacuate people and save their lives from the hands of Satan, who wants to burn all living things.”
