in the heart of Mariupol, where a “referendum” of attachment to Russia is organized

In south-eastern Ukraine, Mariupol is the city where the fighting has been the fiercest, causing tens of thousands of deaths. The Russians finally seized it last May. Until Tuesday, September 27, a referendum of attachment to Russia is organized, although half of the inhabitants have fled. The whole city is criss-crossed by mobile polling stations. The members of the polling station are accompanied by a soldier. The vote is not secret. “It’s illegal (…) because not everyone should see what we are doing”says a woman.

The votes take place everywhere, on the wreckage of a car or in front of a house under reconstruction. “I am from Ukraine but I want it to become a Russian Ukraine”, says a resident. At the end of the street, other inhabitants voted “yes”, denouncing the cost of living and the corruption of the country. They believe their house was destroyed by Ukrainian fire. Some said they did not want to vote. A man says openly: “That Mariupol stays in Ukraine, I’m for that. Historically, that’s how it is.”