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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Alahna Kindred

Horrors of ‘butcher of Mariupol’ who ordered Russian forces to bomb maternity ward

Bombing a maternity ward in Mariupol and gassing children in Syria are a few of the horrors ordered by an evil Russian colonel.

Russian Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev has been dubbed the "butcher of Mariupol" as he's the suspected mastermind behind the relentless bombing of the city.

Mariupol was home to 400,000 people before the war broke out on February 24 and now up to 90 per cent of the city has been destroyed or damaged, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Col Mizintsev is officially known as the director of the Russian National Centre for Defence Management and has been accused of being behind the bombing of maternity hospital as well as the shelling of an art school that was being used as a bomb shelter for residents.

Russian forces have unleashed a relentless bombing campaign over Mariupol (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Sergey Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Odesa military administration, accused the bloodthirsty colonel of ordering several devastating strikes in Mariupol, which has led to hundreds of civilian deaths.

Bratchuk wrote: "He ordered the bombing of a maternity hospital, children's hospital, drama theatre, and civilian homes.

All who lay down their arms are guaranteed safe passage out of Mariupol."

The Ukrainian government has claimed that attempts to establish humanitarian corridors out of the city have been disrupted by attacks from Russia's military.

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A general view shows destruction in Douma on the outskirts of Damascus in April 2018 (AFP/Getty Images)

Olexander Scherba, Ukraine's former Ambassador to Austria, branded Col Mizintsev the "Butcher of Mariupol" as he shared an intercepted audio clip between himself and a junior officer.

In a translation tweeted out by Scherba, it should Col Mizintsev calling a soldier who was not wearing his uniform the "scum of the highest order".

He is recorded saying: "Why is his face not mutilated yet? Why hasn't anyone cut off his ears? Why isn't this moron limping yet?

Civilians trapped in Mariupol city under Russian attacks, are evacuated in groups (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

"At night, when he walks out, unknown assailants jump him. Just jump him over and over, beating him in the face with a bottle and then pouring another litre into it."

Col Mizintsev is said to have orchestrated Russia's involvement in the Syrian Civil War between 2015 and 2016.

Russian forces carried out a series of airstrikes, including the sieging of Aleppo, which left 1,640 civilians dead.

It is likely the high-ranking officer played a key role in the shelling of Aleppo.

It was widely reported at the time that Russian troops used cluster munitions and barrel bombs in built-up urban areas in Syria to inflict maximum casualties on civilians.

Government forces also reportedly dropped chlorine in Aleppo in a series of devastating gas attacks.

In April 2018, a chemical attack was carried out in the Syrian city of Douma, killing almost 50 people and injuring well over 100.

Mariupol is in southeastern Ukraine between the annexed territory of Crimea and Russian-backed separatist forces in the Donbas region.

Mariupol's location as a port city on the Black Sea is also important to the Ukrainian economy as an industrial powerhouse. Mariupol makes steel, repairs ships and is responsible for the production of heavy machinery, vital to both Ukraine's war effort and its economy. If Russia can control the Black Sea coastline, it will be able to cut off Ukrainian trade.

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