KYIV, April 1 – Mariupol City Council asks the world community to recognize the actions of the Russian military in Mariupol as genocide of the Ukrainian people and states that there are no facts of collaboration between the local authorities and the occupying forces.

"Mariupol City Council has condemned the war crimes of Russia against the inhabitants of Mariupol, rejecting the possibility of any form of cooperation with the occupiers and collaborators," the city council said in a Telegram message on Friday.

The report notes that at an extraordinary session, local deputies appealed to the world community with a call to unite efforts to unblock international humanitarian assistance to Mariupol and organized a complete evacuation of the civilian population.

"We reconize and call on the world community to recognize the actions of the Russian Federation in Mariupol as genocide of the Ukrainian people. We recognize and call on the world community to recognize the actions of the army of the Russian Federation as war crimes, and Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal," the City Council quotes the abstracts of the appeal.

In addition, as emphasized in the message, Mariupol City Council strongly condemns the mass deportation of residents of Mariupol to the Russian Federation with the complete blocking of international humanitarian assistance and the efforts of central and local authorities to completely evacuate the civilian population from Mariupol. (om/ez)