Mariupol city council said on social media that Russian invaders have illegally deported to Russia more than 15 thousand of city residents.

Russian troops use force, confiscate passports and other Ukrainian identity documents.

After that, people are taken to ‘filtration’ camps, from which they are sent to various remote cities in Russia.

‘For the past 20 days, the invaders have been blocking the evacuation convoys and preventing the rescue of people. Obviously, this is done to prevent people from moving to Ukraine-controlled territory’, the statement says.

According to Mariupol mayor Vadym Boichenko, Ukrainian authorities are creating a database of relocated residents to facilitate their return to homeland.

Mariupol city council states that such actions of Russian invaders violate Geneva convention and other international agreements.