Russian forces reportedly intend to completely close all access to Mariupol on Monday and filter the men who remain there.
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In addition to closing access to the city, all movement in the neighborhoods would be banned in order to filter out the remaining Ukrainians, some of whom would be forced to fight against their own country, Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, said on Telegram.
Some men would also be forced to clear the rubble, some would join the Russian army, and those deemed “unreliable” would be isolated.
According to the mayor’s adviser, the implementation of this system is already underway. Russian forces reportedly began using filter camps and checkpoints to determine which men would be useful, reports the Mail Online.
The remaining Ukrainians in Mariupol would be subjected to interrogations, tests and physical examinations, claims Petro Andryushchenko.
Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov in southeastern Ukraine, saw the worst fighting in the seven-week war. Home to 400,000 people before the Russian invasion, the city was reduced to rubble by Russian bombing.
An estimated 20,000 civilians were killed, with tens of thousands still trapped there.
Amid fears that Mariupol could soon fall under full Russian control, Ukraine said on Friday it was still trying to break the siege of the city, as fighting raged around the massive steel mills and port of the city.