English language professor Halina Artemova lived for almost 40 years in Marijupolje, at the address Metalurški prospekt 87. "It is my beloved city. When I see the photos, tears come to my eyes. I know every crack in the asphalt, every tree," she told DW.
In a Russian attack in March 2022, a missile hit her apartment building in this city on the Sea of Azov.
Photographer Jevhen Sosnovski lived with his wife for twenty years in the neighboring building, at Metalurški prospekt 85. "I made everything myself, from the interior design to the furniture. We invested a lot and wanted to spend our old age peacefully there."
After the rocket attack, his building also caught fire. The inhabitants were driven out by Russian units, and they were not allowed to take either food or clothes.
Photo: Evgeny SosnovskyAfter the Russian attack on Metalurški Prospekt in 2022
Today, there is a parking lot on the site of Yevhen Sosnovski's house, and a new building was built where Halina Artemova lived.
Russian construction investor "Su-2007", which operates in areas Ukraine under the Russian occupation, he demolished several damaged buildings on Metalurški Prospekt and built high-rise buildings in their place.
They are part of the residential complex "Leningrad Quarter".
DW does not have access to areas of Ukraine under Russian occupation and cannot report directly from Mariupol.
Who are the new tenants?
Nevertheless, conversations with former residents of the city, satellite images and research on the Internet allow a partial reconstruction of today's life in Marijupolje.
People who have already moved into new apartments on Metalurški Prospekt communicate with each other on internet forums for neighbors. According to those forums, most of them bought apartments for their own needs or for renting out.
They are interested in the possibility of delivering furniture from Russia, as well as the choice of kindergarten and school for their children.
Photo: zhk-leningradskij-kvartal.rfAdvertisement for the Leningrad District
In the discussions, it is also reminded that when submitting documents, the most important thing is that the documents be in Russian.
Many have not yet finished decorating their apartments, and some families with small children complain about the noise: "It's time for a vacation! Stop with those damn works! Or maybe you're pro-Ukrainian and against Russian laws?"
According to the words of economic expert Vyacheslav Shirjaev, the apartments in the new buildings of Marijupolje are mostly bought by immigrants. These are mostly people from the Russian security structures, civil servants and logistics personnel connected to the military.
"There are also a small number of people who simply want to live by the sea, but cannot afford Crimea or Sochi," he says.
In the areas under Russian occupation, favorable housing loans are offered with an annual interest rate of two percent throughout the duration of the loan, provided that the user has Russian citizenship.
The maximum amount of the loan is six million rubles (about 63.000 euros), and the own participation must be at least ten percent.
Apartment prices rose by a third
Dozens of residential buildings are being built in Marijupolje, and many have already been occupied. According to data from Russian banks, the city ranks first among the occupied territories in terms of the number of approved mortgage loans.
Real estate prices increased by a third during one year, primarily due to the location by the sea. Such a location, claims Shiryayev, cannot be found in Russia.
However, according to him, the quality of the apartments is very bad. "Investors are saving on everything, but despite that they are looking for bargain prices."
The residential complex "Leningradski kvart" is located not far from the city center and only a ten-minute drive from the sea.
One- and two-bedroom apartments cost between 7,5 million rubles (about 79.000 euros) and almost ten million rubles (about 105.000 euros), while three-room apartments are available from ten million rubles upwards.
Photo: Vertical 52New buildings on Metalurški prospect
The price per square meter, depending on the size of the apartment, the building and the stage of construction, ranges between 120.000 rubles (about 1.260 euros) and 217.000 rubles (about 2.280 euros).
Discounts of up to 12 percent are granted to new settlers. "Leningrad district" includes 15 buildings with 12 to 15 floors.
Residents of the complex state in internet discussions that they insure their mortgages "against war risks". If their building was destroyed, they would no longer have to repay the loan to the bank, but they would lose their right to the apartment.
"If the owner survives the destruction of his apartment, he is entitled to social assistance," wrote one resident.
On the forums, however, no one looks back on the fact that other people lived on the site of today's "Leningrad quarter" a few years ago.
Killed and wounded in Marijupolje
According to the United Nations, during the fighting in 2022, 90 percent of the buildings in the city were damaged or destroyed. Media estimates that the death toll reaches tens of thousands.
Former residents of Metalurški Prospekt, with whom DW spoke, testify about dead and wounded neighbors.
"On the morning of March 21, I came out of the basement and saw a charred body in front of the entrance. It was impossible to recognize who it was. An elderly immobile man from the seventh floor died in the fire. Another man jumped from the sixth floor during the fire and died. A doctor lived on the fifth floor. When the rocket hit the building, he was on duty, but his wife was burned," recalls Yevhen Sosnovski.
Halina Artemova says: "A man and his son from the neighboring building died when they went out to get water. In building number 89, a woman was buried under a concrete slab after a rocket hit and died. In number 91, a rocket hit the first floor and killed an entire family."
Halina herself was wounded by shrapnel. She managed to leave Mariupol with her mother and son.
Jevhen Sosnovski was hit by a missile. He, too, fled the city with his wife and mother-in-law.
Many residents of shelled buildings, whose apartments were not destroyed, remained in Marijupolje. DW has learned that the occupying authorities are calling on them to leave their apartments. In return, they promise them new ones.
"They build their colorful houses where the cemetery used to be"
Those who fled generally have an understanding of their former neighbors who remained in the city.
However, they perceive the Russian occupation with deep contempt. "The local population is being pushed out of Marijupol," says Halina Artemova. Today, he lives in Kyiv with his son.
Jevhen Sosnovski also lives there now. "They are building on human bones and they are building quickly to erase the traces of crime," says Sosnovsky about the actions of the Russians in Mariupol.
Neither Artemova nor Sosnovski are thinking about returning to their hometown or re-registering their property according to the rules of the Russian occupation authorities. At the same time, it is not clear whether they would be allowed to return at all.
Ukraine, however, does not pay compensation for lost real estate because the authorities, without access to the occupied territory, cannot assess the real situation.
"They are building their colorful houses where the cemetery used to be. I would prefer to bomb them, but only if there are no people in the buildings. It is desperate," says one of the former residents of Metalurski Prospekt.
He also lived there for decades and still remembers how his child took his first steps in the apartment that no longer exists today.
Today, he describes his city as follows: "The center is still somewhat tolerable, but as soon as you turn a little left or right, you can smell death."
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