"Russians are destroying the largest historical monument (of its time) not only in Mariupol, but in Ukraine and the world... The sprawling hill has a current height of six and a half meters and a diameter of 70 meters. The 'Did' Mound dates back to the fifth millennium BC, meaning it is much older than the city and is the same age as the Pyramids of Egypt" - a statement by Mariupol mayor's advisor Petro Andriushchenko said.
The official has also published footage showing how the Russian occupiers are destroying the aforementioned historical monument with excavators.
"The 'Grandfather' Mound is an archaeological site on the northwestern outskirts of Mariupol in the Central District. The mound is known from ancient maps, and this is how its name is marked on them. The mound is an earthen but architectural structure, created in its time from pieces of soil with grass. No matter how big the mound originally was - it was created from fertile soil, which is what makes it different from natural hills" - wrote the UNN News Agency journalist Olga Rozgon, providing context while reporting on the event.
Between February 24, 2022, and February 25, 2024, the Russian Federation destroyed or damaged 945 cultural heritage sites in Ukraine, including 128 monuments of national significance, 742 monuments of local significance, and 75 newly discovered sites - Ukrainian government's statistics published at mcip.gov.ua say.
Russia first illegally invaded Ukraine in 2014 - and has occupied a significant part of the country ever since. On February 24, 2022, Moscow took things further mounting an unlawful and unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine - which is the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
The United Nations reports state that since the full-scale invasion started, Russians have committed numerous war crimes in Ukraine, often attacking non-military targets and killing tens of thousands of civilians in the process.
Wednesday is day 763 of Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine.
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Source: unn.ua, mcip.gov.ua