Dear Mariupol residents!
June 13 is a date you remember well. Eleven years ago, Mariupol was liberated from occupation for the first time.
Over the years of war, the city has become a symbol of national revival, resilience, and heroism — which is why the Russians threw so many forces at it in 2022. But even then, the legendary Mariupol garrison held out longer than the world could have imagined.
We remember how the city fought. How Azovstal held out. How the people of Mariupol held on — in basements, in hospitals, in battle. And we remember everyone who died for Mariupol.
We will return. This is not a dream — it is a plan. It is a commitment to the dead, to the prisoners, to everyone who wants to go home.
Today's Liberation Day in Mariupol is not a celebration, but a reminder of how it was and a belief in how it will be.
Mariupol will be free. Ukrainian. Alive. And we will do everything to make it happen.