Ukrainian who fled Mariupol recalls Russian soldiers arguing about killing him: 'Shoot him. You already shot two civilians today.'
Andrei Marusov shared his harrowing journey from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Thursday’s Anderson Cooper 360. Marusov fled after intense bombing and military invasion have made the city inhospitable to Ukrainians.
While taking photos of the damage Russia has done to his home town, Marusov claims he was detained for several hours and that the Russian soldiers didn’t want to deal with a prisoner.
“It has been a late night and that guy told him, ‘OK, shoot him. You already shot two guys, two civilians today. Then, OK, do it,’” Marusov recalled. “First I thought that it's just a joke. I mean, black humor or something like that.”
While civilian casualties are still unknown, there have been many reports that the Russian military is targeting civilians, and Marusov recalled thinking he might become a casualty as Russian soldiers argued about what to do with him.
“I don't know what happened,” Marusoiv said. “They talked for several minutes and Kalashnikov was in my chest and I thought better the chest and the stomach.”
“The Kalashnikov was actually pointing at your chest?” Cooper asked.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Marusov confirmed.
Fortunately, Marusov was released and made it to western Ukraine where his family had already fled. He was reunited with wife and son.
Anderson Cooper 360 airs weeknights at 8 p.m. on CNN.
See why Diana Ross fans were fuming over ‘Jeopardy!’ contestants’ wrong answers:
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
'Masked Singer' judges shocked by double-eliminees' secret singing skills: 'Who knew?'
Putin spokesperson tells CNN that there are 'reasons for nuclear arms to be used'
'Jeopardy!' contestants' wrong answers cause outrage among Diana Ross fans
Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. And check out our host, Kylie Mar, on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.