My relatives are in the besieged Mariupol. We are going nuts, trying to get in touch with them
Svoi has spoken to the people who have relatives in Mariupol. Most of them don't know the fate of their mothers and fathers, sisters and nephews.
Sister Reported As "Missing"
Sergii’s sister and nephew stayed in Mariupol
My sister Maryna is 40 years old and my nephew Igor is 10. In 2014, they moved to Kyiv, fleeing from the war in Donetsk. And three years ago, we decided to settle in Mariupol, closer to our parents, who continued to live in Donetsk - so they could see their daughter and grandson. A year later, my sister bought an apartment in Mariupol and renovated it. Life was more or less peaceful. During the years of living there, my nephew went to school and began to do karate. He won competitions and received belts.
The last time called my sister was on March, 2 . She said shells were flying near her house. And on the night of March 2-3, she told me that she heard the buzzing of drones above the house.
She didn't stockpile food and water in the first days of the war. And now everything has been looted. Why she didn't save up - I have no clue. I guess she thought it would never get to a point where people would start breaking display windows in stores and taking out groceries. I don't know what my sister was hoping for. Parents and I advised her to go and buy... I hope neighbours are helping her.
My sister lives in a two-story "Stalinka" house. There is no basement . So, she and her son were staying in the apartment. I don't know how it is going there . When I was living in Donetsk in 2014 on Pushkin Boulevard, and shells flew by, I also stayed in the "Stalinka". I didn't go anywhere, just hid in the bathroom. I believe that such houses can provide at least but protection.
Since March, 3, there has been no contact with my sister. I have phone numbers of her neighbours, people from the next porch, but I can't reach them either. As far as I know, people go by cars or bicycles around the city in an attempt to get connection. And it works. In some places it appears from time to time.
Question concerning the “humanitarian corridor” was considered many times for the residents of Mariupol. And the ceasefire was announced. All in vain. And it's getting worse - massive shelling of the city continues. It is my understanding that the Russian army is firing at those "humanitarian corridors " that go to Ukraine, to make that people go to the "DPR" from the shelling.
I reported my sister and nephew as "missing" and posted information about them in according telegram channels - Пошук зниклих, Пошук зниклих Україна 2022. They ask you to fill in the full name, date of birth, address and photo. I also constantly monitor the channel "Мариуполь сейчас". Recently I saw the news that a shell hit a kindergarten located near my sister's house. That's the only news related to my family since the 3rd of March.
There is no connection, but I keep calling my mom every day
Lilia, whose parents stayed in Mariupol, as well as her husband's parents
Both of my parents and my husbands are migrants and live in Mariupol. As soon as the first shelling of the city began, I asked them to leave immediately (on the 24th of February, the Russian army launched a series of multiple missile attacks with the "Smerch" system on residential areas of Mariupol, on the airport; as a result of the shelling, three people were killed, 7 civilians were injured - by Svoi). But they said - we would fight for Mariupol.
Now I haven't heard from them for more than a week. When I still had the opportunity to call, I found out that my husband's parents had moved to my parents . And they all hid in the basement together. On the days when the connection was available , they told me they managed to scoot over the nearest store to buy some food.
And then the connection was gone. We see Mariupol has been bombing; there is constant shelling. After the forced relocation from Donetsk to Mariupol, my family lived for some time in the Vostochny microdistrict. Now, people say , this micro-district does not exist. And the Left Bank of the city is being levelled to the ground.
I am trying to follow the situation on the telegram channel "Мариуполь сейчас". There is a function: if you enter the name of the street, the information pops up which houses are holding on and which are destroyed.
I call my parents every day. I dial them up. Although I understand that as soon as their connection appears, I should receive text messages "Subscriber is available now ". But the recipient, unfortunately, is still unavailable, and then I'm texting my mom on Facebook and keep waiting for a response. But she's offline.
Sister queued for 8 hours for water
Lubow, father, and sister stayed in Mariupol
My father is 68 years old and my sister is 29. They are native residents of Mariupol, just like me. My grandmother's house and my parents' house are located on the Left Bank, which is currently shelled the most. A few days ago, my grandmother's yard was hit during heavy shelling. My parents' house, where my father lives now, was shelled around the perimeter. Across the street, an alley where my aunt lives was hit as well. It all happened in one day.
Dad bought groceries and my sister too. I know they cook outside on a campfire. Dad says that almost every house has such a field kitchen. They go out for water and sometimes it is delivered. My sister queued for 8 hours for water. Once or twice a day, my dad and I get on the phone and discuss the latest news. He asks for updates about Ukraine. He doesn't have the Internet; hence, he can't follow the news.
Dad tried to leave the city, but he wasn’t allowed. It was very dangerous. It was on the day when the evacuation wanted to be organised for the first time. And when they agree on a “humanitarian corridor”, how to share this information with people? According to my dad’s words, people are in the dark and in complete isolation due to the absence of connection.
He says that there are rumours about a possible evacuation to Russia. Dad doesn't want to go there.
I Wanted My Father To Move To Europe. Instead, He Joined National Police
Yaroslav, his father stayed in Mariupol
My father is 61 years old and he is a native Mariupol resident. In Soviet times he graduated from a military school, then he was sent to a garrison in Azerbaijan. There my brother and I were born. By the way, my mom is also from Mariupol, she went with dad. When I was 8 years old, the Soviet Union, thank God, collapsed and my father resigned from the Soviet army and returned to his hometown. Then he took up commerce, became quite a successful businessman. But in 2012 he went bankrupt, and at the beginning of the Russian aggression, he was working as an administrator at the Mariupol Drama Theatre.
When Russia started a full-scale war on the 24th of February, father joined the National Police on the same day. And when we talked (the 1st of March) on WhatsApp 10 days ago, he was in the police special force.
Where is he, or what's going on now? I don't know. I asked for information about him but no one knew. But when there was still a connection, I remembered his rage towards the enemy. I have a lot of connections in Europe, so he could move somewhere. But my father's decision was firm - he would not go anywhere from Mariupol! He was robust and combative. Our fighters hold the defence lines.
Of course, I call several times every day, but right now, ‘the subscriber is out of reach’. Specialists from Kyivstar and Vodafone mobile operators are gradually reconnecting some places, since I noticed some friends starting to reappear on social media and writing about the situation in the city. For the most part, Mariupol is still cut off from the power grid, so even if people establish a connection, they still have nowhere to charge their phones.
Our last conversation lasted about 10 minutes. There were no more calls. But I'm waiting.
