Mass Grave, Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Ukrain
While Mourning The Dead, Ukraine's "Mass Grave" City Ekes Out An Occurrence
Translate This News In

Only a children’s playground set, now abandoned, adds color to this neighborhood in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, among the burnt-out frames of shelled residences and bare branches of trees. The port city, which had prewar citizens of more than 400,000, has been a strategic focus of Russia’s five-week-long invasion of Ukraine and has been subjected to near-constant bombardment. According to the mayor’s office, nearly 5,000 people have been killed, and approximately 170,000 people are still trapped among the ruins, without food, heat, power, or running water. Many more people have fled. Reuters was unable to confirm the figures.
Everyone appears to know someone who has been murdered. On March 16, our friend was driving a car when he was hit in the throat by a bullet. “Five minutes later, he was gone,” said Pavel, a man standing near his garage next to a freshly coated grave adorned with a simple wooden cross.

READ:   Thousands of people gather in Rome for the Pope's Good Friday service with Ukraine in mind

Residents bury their neighbours and close relatives near the apartment buildings where they used to live, turning the port city into a mass grave.

Pavel stated that he was in the car with his friend Igor at the time and that he only managed to get him home before he died.

Safe evacuation corridors have only been used infrequently at best. Instead, residents who are unable to leave the city hide in building basements and prepare whatever food they can find in the open.

“We cook whatever we can find among our neighbours. We’ve got some cabbage, some potatoes, some tomato paste, and some beetroot “said Viktor, a former steelworker. They cook on a rudimentary grill and sleep in a basement, which he refers to as their “peaceful oasis.”

READ:   China presents a serious challenge to the international system: the US

“We don’t have anywhere to shower, and we’re drinking water from who knows where,” said Lyudmila, who was in the basement with Viktor.
“Not a life for a retiree,” she remarked ruefully.