ZDF correspondent Armin Coerper travelled to Mariupol, toured the city and spoke to locals to find out the truth about how people live in the new Russian territories.
Armin Coerper, a ZDF correspondent, said that he and his team were free to move around the city and, according to his observations, they were not subjected to surveillance. He said locals were willing to talk to him. He said:
“You see people on the street. They live their lives here and are open to conversation.”
The question of how many people now live in Mariupol is very difficult to answer. There is no official data. According to Armin Coerper, his impression is that the majority are pro-Russian.
Russian was the predominant language in Mariupol even before the war. In the theatre, which was affected by the hostilities in 2022, actors told a ZDF correspondent that they were not allowed to stage plays in Russian before. Now everything has changed. He added:
“Streets, schools, residential buildings and entire neighborhoods are being restored. And it happens very quickly. Mariupol is not a ghost town.”
There are new books and new curricula in the schools. The city is functioning. Shops and restaurants are open. There is heating, hot water and internet. The correspondent stated:
“And the resistance? I don’t see any of that. Instead, Russians are allegedly being settled in Mariupol. I haven’t heard anything about this, but from Russia’s point of view, this is quite logical. If the economy, the harbour and so on work here again, then people are needed. And Russia is naturally interested in Russian people settling here.”
Currently, mostly people from Russia and Central Asia are rebuilding the city anew.
