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World attention fell on Ukrainian port town Mariupol after the news about RussiaMissile strikes on the city appeared on Thursday.
According to Ukrainian officials, as a result of the shelling of houses and a children’s hospital with a maternity ward by Russian forces, an estimated 17 people were injured and three died, including one child.
Now Ukrainians with friends and family in the city have difficulty contacting their loved ones to make sure they are all right.
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Vira Prockic, who grew up in Mariupol but recently fled to Rivne, more than 600 miles from her hometown, told Fox News Digital that the city looked like it came out of a “typical American apocalyptic film, but it’s real.”
Vira Protskich and her hometown of Mariupol before the war. (Credit: Vira Protskich)
“The city is in ruins. Many buildings, such as hospitals and fire stations, campuses and private homes, were destroyed. [Blocks] apartments burned down because shells fell there. Many buildings do not have windows. The city is on fire, ”she said. – Now in Mariupol people live in hell. There are shellings and bombings of the city – civilian areas.
She said she calls her parents up to 30 times a day, but still can’t “contact them every time.” Her neighbor’s son managed to contact his uncle, who shares news about the Protsky family and family, but this information comes only once every “two, three or even five days.”
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Protskich and Elena Ivantsev, who also grew up in Mariupol but are now in Prague, described in detail similar scenes in their favorite city where they grew up, based on what they heard from contacts who are still there.
The residents of Mariupol do not have gas, water, electricity, internet and stable cellular communication. Many drink rainwater or melted snow. People are standing in long lines for humanitarian aid, and several grocery stores are still open.
“People are collecting rainwater, lighting fires [court]yards of many historic buildings … because Mariupol is an industrial, Soviet city, – said Ivasntsev. – People have no electricity and gas does not work. And since there is no water, they collect rainwater. This is truly a disaster. I can’t even imagine. “
Ivantsev also described fears of Russian soldiers on the outskirts of the city, saying last week’s ceasefire agreements had failed.
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She believes that “98%” of Ukrainians want to stay in Ukraine, the remaining 2% are mostly people with young children who “do not know how to survive and how to ensure that children are not injured or killed.”
Ukrainians are trying to remain optimistic, and there is a strong sense of pride for the country’s citizens and leaders, but Russia’s invasion is shocking.
Ukrainian servicemen travel by military vehicle to Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, February 24, 2022 (Photo by AP / Sergei Grits)
“When it happened on February 24, everyone was shocked and everyone was shocked because the situation is still evolving. They don’t know what to do. For example, in Mariupol it should have been the first. the goal from the very beginning of the invasion, but in the first stage of the war it was quite calm, ”Ivantsev said, explaining that Mariupol is a strategic place for Russia due to its proximity to Crimea.
“People just don’t know what to do, where to go and [how far] from her hometowns, ”she continued.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that 2.3 million people have fled Ukraine so far.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights estimates that 549 Ukrainians have been killed and nearly 1,000 more injured since Russia’s invasion on February 24.
