There are about 70-75 thousand people in Melitopol today. Occupiers block exits from the city, not allowing its residents to leave, Mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, said during the United News telethon.
«According to my assumption, about 70-75 thousand people remain in the city. The occupiers are doing everything to keep people in the city. The road from Zaporizhzhia to Melitopol regularly takes 1 hour, in my opinion, in wartime it is 4 hours, but now it takes 2 days. The occupiers are deliberately delaying all processes so people can’t leave and stay in the occupied city,” he said.
Russian soldiers are also blocking unofficial green corridors. Residents can withdraw to the annexed Crimea only.
«Everybody is sent to Crimea only. It is said that people can easily get there, but they do not want to go to Crimea,” the mayor added.