Russia says 3,000 civilians killed in Mariupol, blames Ukraine

Russian officials say that 3,000 civilians were killed in the attack on the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, in Moscow's first estimate of the death toll since the siege several months ago.
The Russian Investigative Committee put the damage caused to the city during the lengthy siege at 176 billion roubles ($2.4 billion).
Moscow blamed Kiev for the deaths and damage, although international groups say Russian troops committed numerous war crimes during the annexation of Mariupol.
The fighting over Mariupol, in the Donetsk region, began in February and raged until Russia took the city's last defenders captive in May.
Kiev says tens of thousands of civilians died in the artillery fire and the humanitarian emergency unleashed by the attacks. The EU and the United Nations have also accused Moscow of committing war crimes while taking Mariupol.
But Moscow blames the city's Ukrainian defenders. The Russian Investigative Committee led by Alexander Bastyrkin, a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, claimed the 3,000 civilians had been killed by Ukrainian soldiers.
The massive destruction of civilian infrastructure was only due to Kiev's use of housing and hospitals for military purposes, the agency claimed following a meeting in occupied Mariupol.