Desperate Russian commanders plan to dress up captured Ukrainian civilians in military uniforms to pose as prisoners of war, an official has claimed.
Moscow’s troops have allegedly discussed the sick dress-up ruse to falsify their May 9 Victory Day celebrations - a key date in Russian military tradition.
Petro Andryushchenko, advisor to the mayor of Mariupol, confirmed he had heard reports that Russians intend to put Ukrainian Army uniforms on civilians for a twisted “parade of prisoners".
It comes amid soaring fears for hundreds of civilians and more than 1,000 Ukrainian troops desperately making a last stand at the besieged Azovstal steel works in Mariupol.
Andryushchenko said many of Mariupol’s men had been forcibly removed and separated from women and children after fleeing the strategic city.
He also hinted that he had heard of Russian plans to disguise Ukrainian civilians as prisoners of war for the May 9 parade, which marks a 1945 Soviet victory against Nazi Germany.
He said: “Men have been forcibly detained without being allowed to leave without a convoy of Russian troops.
“The conditions are terrible - people are forced to sleep on the floor in the corridors. Medical care is not provided.
“As for the future the occupiers emphasise that they have not yet decided whether to use people as labour or mobilise them to the Army as prisoners.
“Why should they be disguised as Ukrainian soldiers?”
Russian forces have stepped up brutal shelling of trapped troops and civilians in the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol as the defenders are in underground tunnel complexes.
They have defended the vast industrial site for weeks, despite coming under heavy attack and being driven back by Ukraine ’s forces repeatedly.
Ukraine’s President Zelensky warned that women and children sheltering underground now need to be dug out from the rubble under which they are buried alive.
He said: “It takes time to just lift people out of these basements, out of underground shelters.
“In the current conditions we cannot use special equipment to clear the debris.
“Everything is done manually but we believe everything will work out.”
Russian forces have promised to allow a ceasefire to allow a rescue bid for the rest of Mariupol’s trapped civilians.
But Ukraines’ attempts to evacuate stricken civilians have been repeatedly thwarted by Russia going back on its ceasefire promises.
According to Kyiv figures 221 Ukrainian children have been killed during the invasion and 408 injured.
