EXCLUSIVE: Rabbi reveals devastating impact of Russian bombardment of Mariupol

A rabbi once based in the besieged and bomb-battered southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol has described how people are hemmed in by Russia’s “iron walls” as its invading forces continue firing on desperate residents.

Speaking to Jewish News, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Cohen also detailed how Jewish Ukrainians were among those sheltering in the city’s theatre – site of their annual Chanukah celebrations – when it was struck by a Russian missile this week.

Few accounts have emerged from Mariupol in recent days, owing to Russia’s destruction of the city’s infrastructure, including its mobile and internet connections. Most information now comes through the satellite phones of aid workers.

Since the 1990s, just after the fall of Communism, Cohen has helped re-establish Jewish life in the strategically important port city on the Sea of Azov, and this week told of how his beloved home had been blitzed by Russian shelling.

He said up to 50 Jewish families were among those who left in the 160-car convoy that was the first to evacuate the city several days ago. “Some had to leave their relatives,” he explained. “It has divided families. I know one Jewish lady who had to leave her mother.”

Reflecting on the damage, he added: “No city now can be compared with Mariupol as to the destruction and bombings. We have an iron curtain around the city. Only a few can find a signal and just quickly report that they are still alive. You can hear their cries as they phone.”

On the bombing of the theatre, he said: “It was a special place, a place of joy. For ten years, it was where we celebrated Chanukah. I know some Jewish families who were sheltering in there when it was destroyed.”

He added: “Our community is being scattered. Everyone is in basements with no connection, either through their phone or through other people, with no-one to go and see if they are OK. Where is the world? Where is the no-fly zone?”

Before the Russian invasion, the city was home to 430,000 people, which included a 16,000-strong Jewish population. While tens of thousands have now fled, many others are stuck in an area that was once home to up to 90,000 Jewish residents in its 19th century heyday.

Cohen said people were evacuating towards the mainland Ukrainian cities of Zaporizhia or Dnipro, but that it was dangerous, with convoys of cars constantly being hit. “People can’t get out,” he said. “Those who drive risk their lives in trying to escape.”

One member of Mariupol’s Jewish community who was lucky to get out is Roman, whose apartment and two cars were destroyed. He escaped with a neighbour in their car, driving through several small villages around the city at huge risk of being fired on.

“We were in a hopeless situation,” he recalled. “Together with my wife and 13-year-old son we drove along roads laid with mines. Apartments were destroyed as we drove. I never expected to live through such a situation. My child survived three shellings. Our village was destroyed. We tried to find other places to stay in.”

The city now has no gas for heating, no running water, and no electricity, he said, recalling how he left his phone charging in the car as he went towards the house before an explosion tore through the building behind him.

“My car was just outside the gate of the maternity hospital when it was bombed,” he said, referring to an attack that made news reports around the world. “We have lost everything, everything that we managed to collect and built over many years. I am 35, we need to start all over again.”

He said it had been impossible to leave the city for many days because humanitarian corridors – while promised – did not materialise due to constant Russian shelling. “I think the number killed [in Mariupol] is higher than the official numbers say,” he added.

“There are no proper bomb shelters. Those being used are simple basements. They collapse like boards after a hit. Nothing was prepared in advance of the war. Iron fragments are flying all over, so people walking or crossing the road are hit and do not survive.

“In each apartment, many families gather together so they can be with relatives. This means that there is enormous loss of life if a bomb hits it. People feel abandoned. They are deprived of light and basic necessities. Where is the mayor? Where is the Red Cross?”

Cohen said he planned to leave Ukraine if he survived. “After a couple of days of coming to our senses, we will go to Israel because I have an Israeli passport,” he said. “I just want to wake up from this.”