You're reading: Mariupol steel mills, city administration and public sign order and security memorandum

Illich Iron and Steel Works of Mariupol general director Yuriy Zinchenko, Azovstal Iron and Steel Works general director Enver Tskitishvili, Mariupol Mayor Yuriy Khotlubei, the city's acting police chief Oleh Morhun, members of Mariupol public organizations, and the leader of "Donetsk People's Republic" supporters, Denys Kuzmenko, have signed a memorandum pledging order and security in the city.

The Metinvest group said in a press release that the initiative to sign such a document belonged to the heads of Illich Iron and Steel Works, Azovstal and the voluntary people’s patrol headquarters in the city.

The memorandum documents joint initiatives to maintain social security in Mariupol and contains proposals to the Ukrainian authorities, it said.

“The May 9 events in Mariupol showed that armed confrontation can only lead to people’s deaths, can only lead to a political deadlock. These events must not be repeated. Our priority is peace in Mariupol, a quiet life in the city and the undisrupted operations of all industrial and utilities sector enterprises. Ideological and political disagreements cannot serve as a pretext for bloodshed. Our wish for a peaceful life and our love for Mariupol unite us,” reads the memorandum.

“The withdrawal of troops from Mariupol gave a start to a peace process. We support and will jointly promote the initiatives aimed at bolstering the work of voluntary people’s patrols. We trust the city’s police and support them in their crackdown on looting, hooliganism and robberies within the territory of the city,” the document says.

“We need to make new steps to maintain peace and order in Mariupol. We call on the full renunciation of violation and on the disarmament of any armed groups appeared in the town on the wave of protests. Leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, people’s guards, police maintain the renunciation of any illegal actions (violence, seizure of buildings and use of arms),” reads the document.

“We jointly address Kyiv authorities with a proposal to remove military checkpoints from roads approaching Mariupol. The town police with support of people’s guards are to maintain order at the entrances to Mariupol,” reads the memo.

“Town authorities maintain vital functions of Mariupol, stable operation of the town economy and infrastructure. We jointly will make every effort to restore destroyed and damaged buildings, roads and clean the town. We’ll make all possible to immortalize Mariupol residents who were killed during the recent armed conflict,” reads the document.

“The memorandum is open to other public and business representatives of Mariupol for signature. We send it to power representatives, international organization operating in Ukraine and the mass media,” says the memo.