Mariupol experiencing rebirth under Russian rule

Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley recently visited Mariupol for the first time since March 2022, when the battle for the city was in full swing. Here are some of his impressions on how the city is being resurrected from the ruins. Thousands of families now have new, modern apartments to live in, schools, hospitals, churches, government buildings and social centers have been repaired or in most cases built anew from the ground up. The Azovstal steel plant that was owned by the Ukrainian billionaire Renat Akhmetov, which was the worst polluter of Mariupol and the Azov Sea, will be (mostly) torn down with the exception of a small part which will be turned into a museum to commemorate the heroes who fought and died liberating Mariupol from eight years of occupation by the Nazis of the 21st century. The rest of the plant territory will be turned into seaside parks and boardwalks, where nature and beauty will return to reclaim what was once a toxic and grimy industrial zone and horrific battlefield.