Surrounded by the Russian army and unable to access humanitarian corridors, residents of Mariupol, in southern Ukraine, report being held hostage in their own city since Russia invaded the country.
More than 80% of homes have been destroyed after more than 15 days of Russian attack, making it difficult for residents to find safe places to seek shelter. They are also unable to leave the city, as Russia has been breaking its promise to create a humanitarian corridor for two weeks.
In Zaporijia, the sheet spoke to residents who managed to leave Mariupol after days hiding in basements, without access to electricity, heat, water and phone reception. In addition to the destruction, they say that bodies are piling up on the streets.
Christina Cherkess arrived this Saturday (19) in Zaporijia, after spending 14 days in a basement with her husband, one-year-old son and in-laws. “For two weeks we lived in a basement, without basic survival items. We didn’t even have water to clean our face,” she says, speaking in Russian. “Putin kills Russian-speaking people,” says Christina. “All my life I’ve been speaking Russian, my child also speaks Russian, my mother speaks Russian, my mother was born in Russia.”
“The population of Mariupol is being held hostage, because if there are civilians in the city it is more difficult for Russian troops to go into battle with Ukrainian forces,” he declares.
Christina’s mother, Svetlana Kuryachaya, describes the scenario they found themselves in in Mariupol. “Russian troops went in there, and we were bombed. They hit our house, close to our house, people died, they were cut by the (missile) fragments. Near my house they shot a young man in a car… he was still there , no one caught him, dogs ripped his body apart.”
Svetlana says they only came out of the basement to try to help neighbors who had their house bombed. “There was a fire, we took the elderly out of there, so they wouldn’t be burned alive. On the other side of the street, people were burned alive, completely, they found only burned bones.”
Since the beginning of the attacks, Russian and Ukrainian authorities have been trying to reach agreements to establish humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from areas most affected by the strike. However, they have yet to achieve a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire in the Mariupol region for the evacuation of the population. It is estimated that 200,000 civilians remain in the city.
On Sunday (20), local authorities said that the Russian army on Saturday (19) bombed an art school that served as a shelter for hundreds of people in Mariupol. According to the Ukrainians, there were about 400 civilians at the scene. The number of victims was uncertain.
Since the attacks began, around 30,000 people have left Mariupol on their own, using their cars to travel to Zaporijia, which maintains support centers to provide first aid to people.
Despite being the destination of flight for many residents of Mariupol, the city also suffered from Russian bombings and decreed a curfew that will be in effect until 5:00 am local time on Monday (21) – zero time on Monday in Brasilia. The intention, according to local officials, is to look for Russian undercover “saboteurs”.
​On March 4, an attack by Moscow caused a fire at the Zaporijia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe. The Russians are in control of the facility.
The trip from Mariupol to Zaporijia, just over 200 kilometers, has taken 3 to 4 days due to Russian blockades and checkpoints. Residents need to present documents and, especially men, prove that they are not military.
In an attempt to protect themselves from attacks, residents tie white strips to car doors and write the word “children” in Russian on the windows.
This Saturday (19), Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced that the government had reached an agreement with Russian authorities to create 10 humanitarian corridors, one of them in Mariupol. She said Ukraine has already evacuated 190,000 civilians from war-torn areas.
