Mariupol/Telegram channel “Mariupol now”
In the long-suffering Mariupol, the Russian army fired from “Grads” at the buildings – the bodies of people had to be collected piece by piece and buried in the yards. The square, where Mariupol residents used to walk, turned into a cemetery.
Civilians also died without essential medicines and timely treatment. Igor Pavlyuk, director of the Ukrainian House in Mariupol, spoke about these and other nuances of survival in the besieged city – exclusively to the Channel 24 website.
Igor was born and raised in Mariupol. He remembers his hometown beautiful and developing. And until the end I could not believe that in the 21st century everything that the occupying troops did was possible. Indeed, in his understanding, even an ideological war cannot continue with such physical destruction. On February 24, Igor's morning began, like most Ukrainians, with messages from relatives. He immediately left for work, where a large number of Ukrainian soldiers had already gathered by that time. It was the largest institution in the city. Therefore, the fighters went to the front line from here. The man noted that the Ukrainian defenders were in a good mood and with thoughts that it would end soon. . They had no doubts about it, but, unfortunately, it didn’t work out the way they wanted,” he noted. There are many mass graves in Mariupol now. One of them is located near the house of culture where Igor worked. There used to be a square where the locals used to rest. Now there is a cemetery. When they started burying people there, I already buried them near my house. I didn't see it, but I know there are a lot of people killed there,” he said.
A cemetery instead of a public garden
Igor Pavlyuk/Photo by Valentina Polishchuk, Channel 24
200 people worked in the Ukrainian House. About 50 of them have not been contacted today. According to the man, bombs fell nearby, but there was no direct hit on the building.
We had more fun. We were simply shot from tanks. The front of the house was all shot. Moreover, about 150 people were in the basement at that moment. I was gone. I was in my area and could not go there,” he said.
People found something white and ran out because they were afraid that they would simply be filled up in the basement. There were a few employees there, and most of them were those who lived in neighboring houses. Ordinary civilians with children, grandparents, dogs, cats, parrots.
Mariupol/Telegram-channel “Mariupol now”
“If they hadn't been called, then my children probably wouldn't exist”
The first hit in the house where the man lived with his family was on March 9. Prior to that, “fly” to neighboring houses. Therefore, people, finding themselves without water, gas, light and communications, were already cooking on fires and hoping that all this might not reach them. After all, this was the center of the city, and important infrastructure is located here.
In my understanding, if you want to continue living in this city and improve something, there is no need to destroy it. And it turned out exactly the opposite, – said Igor Pavlyuk.
On March 9, the family got up from the fire to their apartment on the sixth floor. The man's children went to their bedroom. And only when they were called to the kitchen, exactly 20 seconds later, it flew into their room.
If they had not been called, then probably my children was no longer there. We grabbed our documents, they were already ready. The only thing we didn’t think was that we would go down to the basement on March 9 and never actually return to the apartment,” he added.
Igor Pavlyuk told how he almost lost his children/Photo Valentina Polishchuk, Channel 24
According to the man, he tried several times to get up to find at least some food. But it was very unsafe, because the snipers were already working. On March 16, there was a direct hit on the building, it caught fire. The flame spread throughout the building.
Our balconies were falling, there was a fire, the temperature was high. And we were in the basement. We tried to put it out, but the smoke was strong and it was impossible. We just stood there and watched it all burn down,” the source said. /h2>
Igor's car was burned, so it was impossible to leave. At least one person a day from the house where the man lived died. These, in particular, were elderly people who were left without the necessary medicines, those who had oncology or who were in diabetic coma. They were left without medical care and were dying because they could not receive timely assistance.
On March 9, our neighbor was walking with two dogs on the street. She was torn in two. We did not bury her for several days, because we thought that they would take the body. But there was nowhere to take it, and we were offered to take it to the balcony. I will say terrible things, but two parts of the body are in two different covers. So we buried her below,” he said.
Mariupol/Telegram-channel “Mariupol now”
An elderly woman who lived on the fourth floor died on the day of the first shelling. They tried to give it away so that someone would take it and bury it. But no one took away the body of the deceased.
We wrapped her in her carpet. She lay still for a long time. We all thought what to do with it, because everything around was heavily shelled. We were afraid to bury her. A terrible fate, because a fragment hit, and she also burned down. So she stayed there, – he said.
People had to be buried from neighboring houses. It was also very fast, and it is very difficult to call it a burial place. According to Igor, the dead were covered with earth, because it was impossible to dig a normal hole. They tried to leave documents with the dead in case someone suddenly finds them, so that they understand who it is.
“Podvalnaya family”
Everyone lived in shelters, like a big friendly “basement family”. Men kindled a fire, which they constantly tried to maintain. After all, there was no time to kindle it again, and it was dangerous.About 150 people were in the basement with Igor. The man calls it a kind of “basement migration”, when people from one basement ran to another. They stopped somewhere, lived and moved on. It was impossible to move around the city.
I went outside to check the remains of my car. Could not believe that she does not start and does not leave. At this time, Russian “Grads” drove up and began to fire. I can’t say what caused the shell shock, but for two days after that I didn’t hear anything at all. And on this day I said: “That's it, we're going,” Igor said.
Mariupol/Telegram-channel “Mariupol now”
There were no roadblocks around the city. The Russian military just moved randomly. According to the man, they were not their target, but none of them looked for civilians to hit somewhere.
Because when the invaders came to us, I said: “Make at least some kind of pedestrian corridor so that people can get out of my basement.” To which they replied: “We do not deal with this. For us, you are not here at all. These are your questions.” So people ran out right at their own risk, he recalled.
Rescue on foot
They left the basement of their own house on March 22 at 11:00 am and walked to the PortCity shopping center. Fearing that they would not be deported to Russia, the family turned to Stary Krym and spent the night with a close friend.
Before that, Igor met people in the basement who had a car, but they were still afraid go out. He left notes for them to roughly understand how they would go, so that later they would meet in one place. In total, nine people left Mariupol, including Igor.
Mariupol/Telegram-channel “Mariupol Now”
By that time, the so-called “filtration camps” were already operating. However, the man managed to bypass them in the Donetsk region. In Zaporozhye, there was no “filtration” yet, but men were stripped and humiliated at checkpoints. According to Igor, he told his people that they had to endure it in order to go further.
It's all there, but we're alive. We went out with the dog. She is already old with us, and one paw actually did not go. In Kyiv, she surprisingly began to walk on all four. Apparently, stress, – summed up Igor Pavlyuk.
