Exhibition Mariupol – From an Industrial Hub to a Ghost Town

From an Industrial Hub to a Ghost Town

Mariupol is a port city in the Donetsk region on the coast of the Sea of Azov, which gained city status in 1779. Before the occupation, the city had a population of about 450,000 people, making it one of Ukraine’s largest industrial centres with modern infrastructure and historical monuments. Approximately 7% of Ukraine’s total industrial output was produced in Mariupol, which was also home to the country’s largest metallurgical plant, Azovstal.

Due to its location, Mariupol became one of the key strategic points in Russia’s war against Ukraine. The city was first occupied in April 2014 when fighters of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic captured it. It was liberated by Ukrainian forces in June of the same year.

From the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Mariupol immediately came under massive attacks by the Russian army. Maternity hospitals, schools, and other civilian structures were targeted by missile and bomb attacks. The world was horrified by the deliberate bombing of the Mariupol Drama Theater, under whose rubble thousands of civilians perished.

The siege of the city by the Russian army lasted from February 24 to May 20, 2022. The final stronghold of Mariupol’s defenders was the Azovstal metallurgical plant. Ukrainian soldiers maintained the city’s defensive line for two months thanks to the plant, enduring continuous Russian attacks and suffering from shortages of water, food, and medicine. The heroic defence of Azovstal became known worldwide. In mid-May, the defenders of Azovstal withdrew, most of whom were captured by Russian forces, leading to Mariupol falling under Russian occupation.

It is estimated that over 100,000 civilians and Ukrainian soldiers were killed in Mariupol, though the true death toll will only be known after the city is liberated. As of 2022, following the occupation, approximately 120,000 people remained in Mariupol. A large portion of the population fled the city during the siege, despite great hardships, finding temporary refuge in Ukrainian-controlled areas or leaving the country during the war.

Mariupol became a ghost town on May 20, 2022, when Russian soldiers brutally occupied this vital Ukrainian port and industrial city, where they remain to this day.

Tetiana Lytvyn was born in 1975 and grew up in Mariupol. She dedicated her life to public service and worked both in the local city council and later in customs. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Tetiana was in her hometown. At that time, she only had a smartphone, with which she decided to record everything she saw and experienced with her own eyes. It was not so easy because it was almost impossible to charge the phone due to the lack of electricity.

In the middle of June 2022, Tetiana managed to travel with her mother from Mariupol to Germany and took a selection of pictures taken during the war with her. Tetiana doesn’t consider herself a professional photographer, but she tried as much as possible to capture the consequences of the terrible events in her photographs.