Residents of the port city of Mariupol have told the BBC who are trying to survive a relentless barrage of Russian missiles that has destroyed residential districts and cut off electricity and water supplies.
“For two full days there has been no light, heat or water, and we hardly have any food anymore,” says Maxim, a 27-year-old systems developer who was sheltering in his grandparents’ apartment on Thursday morning.
“Food and medicine are not reaching Mariupol at the moment. The local government tried to deliver water and bread, but it’s over,” he said. “I filled the bathtub with water before they cut it off. We have about five liters left.”
Maxim left his apartment after the Russian invasion began last week to be with his grandparents, who are in their 80s and cannot leave their apartment on the sixth floor of a city center building. The three of them are sheltering from the bombardment with their pets in the corridor of the apartment, without heating in the middle of winter.
“The shelling started again at six this morning,” says Maxim. “The city was completely dark during the night, there were no light sources beyond the explosions. There was silence for a few hours, but then, at dawn, it started again. Now we can hear them coming from all directions. We are terrified.”
An enclave to the east
Mariupol, a city of 400,000, is a key strategic target for Russia because capturing it could allow Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine to join forces with troops currently in Crimea, the southern peninsula Russia annexed in 2014.
The Russian defense ministry called on civilians Thursday to evacuate the city through a humanitarian corridor, but residents say there has been no break from the shelling to allow them to move.
Communications have been down for nearly two days, residents say, preventing people in the city from interacting with one another. The different calls between residents constantly drop or simply do not connect.
In dialogue with the BBC On Thursday morning, the city’s acting mayor, Serhiy Orlov, said the entire city was without electricity, water or sanitation.
“We had fifteen main power lines and they are all down. They are leaving us completely isolated, destroyed by artillery. We only have the natural gas supply left,” he said.
“Mariupol is still Ukrainian for now, we still control the perimeter, but there are clashes in the streets outside and we are on the brink of a humanitarian crisis.”
incommunicado families
Orlov had been unable to communicate with his father, mother and brother, as the three live together in a residential district that has been heavily bombed since Monday night.
“I have not been able to contact them by any means, the bombardments are continuous.”
Dmytro, an activist in the city, told the BBC that he could hear constant gunshots and explosions from the place where he was sheltering. After less than a minute of conversation, the connection was cut and he could not be contacted again.
Alexander, a 44-year-old engineer, said he was taking refuge with his wife, two children and his mother in a five-story building.
“We have been bombarded for five days and right now I can hear gunshots and bombs non-stop,” he said.
“There is still some bread in a nearby store, but we don’t know when the food supply will run out. What will happen when we run out of water? What will happen when my phone battery dies? We are not going to have any kind of connection with the outside.”
Mariupol, incommunicado
For the relatives of Mariupol residents living in other parts of Ukraine, there is only the agonizing wait for a call.
Alina Hrydina, a 31-year-old saleswoman in Kiev, last spoke to her parents on Wednesday morning when they called to congratulate her and her brother on their birthday. She has not been able to contact them since. She doesn’t like her aunt or her grandmother either.
“I saw some photos on the internet suggesting that the central area where they live was fine and had not been burned down,” he said. “It’s the only thought I have right now. I’m holding on to that hope.”
If Russian forces take Mariupol, Ukrainian troops standing between the city and the Donbass region, which has been under the control of Russian-backed separatist troops since 2014, could be encircled and a large part of eastern Ukraine could be occupied.
There are fears among residents that Russian troops are willing to destroy large parts of the city in order to take it over.
Maxim said he was praying that the Ukrainian army could resist the invasion and restore the water supply.
“We can’t leave this apartment to get food, water, anything,” he said. “We are cold and at night it is totally dark.”
He said he would try to talk again Thursday afternoon, but his battery was less than half charged.
“I don’t know how long my phone will survive,” he said.
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
