These are people who have been filtered. Note the Russian authorities are contacting them about property in Mariupol. How do they contact them if they havent been documented by the Russians via filtration? (Source is someone who has been through filtration telling Ukrainian relative in the UK). I think this highlights a planned and systematic bureaucracy.
Part of the problem is that many residents don't actually know what is left in Mariupol for them. It really depends on when they left. Lots don't know if their house is still there. They don't know if their precious and sentimental possessions are still there and retrievable. They don't have full knowledge of the current situation. They want to return precisely to see whats left. Many want to go back, board up windows etc etc. Because its home. Many are staying with relatives in Russia which may not be tenable long term. So what are they supposed to do? Put into context of the images of how quickly Ukrainians have returned to Bucha and Borodyanka after fighting ceased there. There clearly is this desire by many Ukrainians to just get back on with living their life once fighting stops in their vicinity.
Ukrainians with strong Russian family ties from Mariupol may hate what the Russians have done and not want to live under them at this point but their choices are also potentially limited.
There isn't electricity or water. I would imagine there is lots of unexploded ordnance. And something tells me Russia is unlikely to prioritise rectifying this for a while. But not everyone will be fully aware of the scale of this depending on when they left Mariupol though. And they are not necessarily listening to Ukrainian relatives telling them its all gone. (Much to the frustration and concern of Ukrainian relatives as you might imagine)
These people are being told they have to replace documents with Russian ones and they must get a job in Russia. So going back to Mariupol which they know and love kind of makes sense in that context if they don't understand Mariupol isn't there anymore and they don't want to remain in Russia with extended family.
What would you do if you were kipping on your second cousin's sofa, didn't want to settle in Russia and get a job there and you are told 'if you don't claim your home which you've invested in for years we will give it to someone else'. Especially if it was still vaguely standing when you left. Those who left Mariupol later are more likely to have the mentality that they will never return to the city, but many will have left to go to safety on the assumption that they were leaving only temporarily.
Remember: Russia is actively saying they need to return to claim their property. That will give the impression in itself that Mariupol is habitable.
Indeed what surprised me was from what I've been told, is the mere fact some residents who left Mariupol or the surrounding area have been able to return at all somehow. The press have stated that the Ukrainian authorities believe that around 100,000 are still living there somehow amid fears of cholera though, which in itself is somewhat remarkable.
If you compare reports coming out of Kherson about replacing the population in the region with Russians, what is known to have happened in Crimea and what seems to be now happening in Mariupol its a consistent pattern with that though.
The whole thing is mind boogling. There is a void of information which is very much a huge part of the problem. There are clearly many very bewildered displaced Ukrainians now finding themselves scattered still in Ukraine on both sides of the line and from the UK to the extreme end of Russia, who have access to very different views on the situation on the ground.
People are trying to piece together what little bits of information they can gather or are being told in various ways about areas which are under attack or occupation from social media and via word of mouth through friends and family. I think we are seeing a huge amount of the latter in the uk (for obvious reason we aren't Ukrainian) and I think thats something hard to grasp from afar. We have a much more broad concept of the war and whats happening. If you want to know about your neighbourhood and friends/family its a very different idea to try and comprehend.