Greek Consul in Mariupol: It is a tragedy, a very civilian population was hit, nothing was left

For his tragedy war in Ukraine The Greek consul in Mariupol spoke to journalist Kostas Onisenko Manolis Androulakis. As he said, a very civilian population was hit, characteristically emphasizing “nothing was left”. He also referred to the Azov Battalion and the news that he had been abducted, denying it.

Costas Onisenko uploaded the interview to Facebook on March 16, stressing that he was late in doing so in order for Mr. Androulakis to leave the war zone safely.

«Every day was worse. Listening to the battles from afar, as if okay, is far away. With each passing day, this sound became closer and closer. “We understood that the city was excluded”, said Mr. Androulakis.

«Many civilians and structures were hit, and when I say hit, I mean there is nothing left. “I see no reason for anyone to return to this city, it will heal this wound in a generation, it’s an issue,” he said.

“It’s a tragedy. From the first 3 to 4 days of the siege all the infrastructure was lost. “No water, no electricity, no telecommunications and of course there was no supply, fuel, food, we will witness a great humanitarian crisis,” said the Greek consul.

“I have met the Azovs”

The Greek consul in Mariupol commented on the action of the Azov Order. “You can say a lot about Azov. What it was and what it is. I do not want to go back to the ideological and political part. The Azovs were and are one of the defenses of the city. They do not hit their own. I have met them. As I am a little surprised by the scale of the issue with the consulate, it is good that there is unprecedented support for Ukraine. “We have never had anything like this before,” he said.

He clarified: “Somewhere it was written that Azov was holding me hostage and torturing me. For the first two days the Azovs fed us. This is a fact. I do not agree with them ideologically, far from me, but I did not see what is written. ‘We have left the business resort, I’m in a controversial zone […] A three-day-old child came to our shelter. “

“It’s safe”

Journalist Costas Onishenko stated in his Facebook post:

“I spoke last night with the Consul General of Greece in Mariupol, Manolis Androulakis, who remained trapped in the city of martyrdom for more than two weeks. The diplomat briefly described to me what he experienced in the martyr city while answering my questions, including about the Azov Order, about which much has been said in the Greek media. I was late in publishing the interview for security reasons, until Mr. Androulakis left the war zone. At the moment, the courageous diplomat is safe and heading to the EU border. Earlier in the day, the convoy he was heading to was attacked” he said.