Russian forces In Mariupol prepare for cholera outbreak — Adviser to Mariupol Mayor

In temporarily occupied Mariupol, the occupying authorities began preparations for the cholera outbreak. Russian forces conduct "urgent preparations" of an infectious disease department at the city's ambulance hospital despite a public denial of the threat, says Adviser to Mariupol Mayor Petro Andriushchenko.

Adviser says the occupiers have almost completed the construction of four boxes to isolate cholera patients. An infectious disease department will be opened in the place of the former treatment department for COVID-19 patients.

Andriushchenko stated that the Russian forces used this place to store 600 bodies of its killed service members during the street fights in Mariupol.

Now, the queue for a permit to bury relatives takes up to 10 days in Mariupol: "While waiting in this queue, Mariupol residents must keep the bodies either at home or on the streets at improvised morgues — the consequences are clear to everyone. Therefore, the number of self-arranged graves in the yards is growing, the exhumation has been de facto stopped," adds the adviser.

National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine said that as of June 11, no cholera outbreaks had been reported in any Ukrainian city or village, and no pathogens had been found in the country's waters.

What is happening in Mariupol?

Mariupol was under Russian blockade and was de facto destroyed. At least 84,000 citizens lost their homes due to destruction after the Russian blockade. The exact number of killed Mariupol residents is unknown, but according to preliminary data, up to 22,000 people died in Mariupol. Some residents were forcibly deported to the territory of the unrecognized DPR or Russia.

At the same time, the occupying authorities plan to resume studies in Mariupol schools and have already delivered Russian textbooks to implement the plan. The educational process in schools will last all summer: the Russians have canceled summer vacations.

According to Mariupol Mayor's Adviser Petro Adriushchenko, the city's occupation authorities have started issuing pensions in rubles to local residents.

Ukrainian defenders from the Azovstal plant were taken to the temporarily occupied territories by Russian forces. Ukrainian authorities expect to exchange the service members in the near future.