INSPIRATIONHULL
City’s rebuild after WWII blitz is blueprint for Mariupol rebirth
HULL’S rise from the ashes of its Second World War bombardment could serve as a blueprint for the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
A Ukrainian academic said on a visit to East Yorkshire that it was similar enough to his own city for architects to learn valuable rebuilding lessons.
Mariupol has been under Russian control since it was besieged in February 2022. The people of the city endured two months of heavy bombardment as soldiers tried to defend the community of nearly 500,000.
Residents were trapped in basements for weeks without power or water.
At least 8,000 people were killed, according to a human rights report.
Mariupol State University was destroyed and the institution is now in exile, with staff relocated to Kyiv.
Its rector, Professor Mykola Trofymenko, spoke during a visit to Hull about how both cities were devastated in the war. He said: “Hull is a great example for Mariupol because even our maps are similar. The background is similar. Mariupol is also an industrial city. Hull was almost totally destroyed during the Second World War by Nazi bombing.
“Mariupol is destroyed now.
“The community of Hull recovered from this tragedy and they rebuilt their city. For us it’s a very inspirational example.
“We are working with different stakeholders to plan how we will rebuild Mariupol, how we can recover and heal our inhabitants from their psychological problems after what they faced. The right Mariupol will be built around the university.”
The university has a twinning agreement with the University of Hull, which has been helping lecturers and pupils since their base was destroyed. It has also helped with computer equipment and donations to build student dorms as well as running online English classes for staff and students.
Prof Trofymenko added the temporary Kyiv campus would probably last for another five to eight years. But he said of the Mariupol site: “I don’t believe that all the people will come back after what they faced out there.
“Mariupol is now a huge cemetery. We’ll have discussions about whether to rebuild it totally or partly, or if we will create a memorial to human stupidity.”
He said such a memorial would serve as a reminder of a time when “the ruler of one country decided to destroy and kill so many people”.
Ukraine now leans more than ever towards Europe, but Prof Trofymenko said the university had always supported European integration.
He added of the ongoing war: “We need weapons for our armed forces.
“We don’t have time to hold negotiations between the Democratic and Republican parties in [the] US. European assistance isn’t enough.
“We are defending the values of the civilised world – freedom and democracy. If our donors stop helping our armed forces we will not have a Ukraine.”