Russian Soldiers Are Executing Local Officials, Imprisoning Volunteers In Mariupol: Mayor

Russian forces in Mariupol, Ukraine, have executed local officials and imprisoned volunteers who delivered aid to the occupied city because they refused to cooperate with them, according to Ukrainian officials.

A firing squad executed at least one civil servant, while a "fake" court from the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), a pro-Russian separatist state in Ukraine, sentenced a village head to 10 years in prison, the Mariupol City Council said in a statement Thursday, citing Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko.

Dozens of volunteers are currently being held in Olenivka Prison as well, according to Boichenko.

"All of them refused to cooperate with collaborators and the occupying power," the statement read.

The volunteers helped evacuate Mariupol residents and tried to deliver food and water to the city between March and April, according to the city council.

A Ukrainian judge is now awaiting "sentencing" from the DPR court, and there are reports that they have been subjected to torture. International Business Times could not independently verify the information.

Russia completely took over Mariupol on May 20 when the last Ukrainian defenders emerged from the bunkers of the Azovstal steelworks, a plant that held back Russian forces for weeks.

At least 22,000 civilians died in the city throughout Russia's nearly three-month-long siege, according to Boichenko.

Russia previously denied targeting civilians in the ongoing conflict.

Around 100,000 residents remained in Mariupol, but the situation inside has been "very difficult," Boichenko said.

The mayor recently said that the survivors in the city have had no access to water since April and that they have been forced to work for their occupiers in exchange for water.

Both the Russian occupiers and forces of the pro-Russian For Life party, also known as the OPZZh, have declared themselves to be in power in Mariupol and are holding the city's residents hostage, Boichenko alleged.

Killing, torturing or taking hostage of non-combatants in war is a violation of the Geneva Conventions.

Meanwhile, the "extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity" that was "carried out unlawfully and wantonly" is considered a war crime under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Ukraine is currently investigating more than 13,000 suspected war crimes it has identified in Russia's invasion. The ICC has also sent a team of experts to Ukraine to probe alleged war crimes.