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Ukrainian civilians in the “pan of fire” Mariupol struggled to find food and water to survive the day

Ukrainian civilians in

After weeks of living in underground shelters or staying indoors, the people of Mariupol are now forced to go out in search of food and water and have thus seen their once vibrant port city. is now a ruin.

“You have to run to find the water distribution point. Then go to where they are handing out bread. Then you line up to get your rations. You run all day,” shared the 50-year-old man, holding two empty water cans.

After a weeks-long siege, Russia and pro-Moscow separatist forces took almost complete control of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine by mid-April.

AFP journalists now found the city largely quiet on a recent press tour organized by Russian forces. Only a few loud explosions came from the direction of the Azovstal steel plant, where Ukrainian forces were entrenched.

After weeks of living in underground shelters or staying at home, the people of Mariupol are now going out in search of food and water. Their once vibrant port city is now a ruin.

In an eastern district, not a single Soviet-era apartment block lining the streets remains intact. The facades of the buildings were scorched and torn from the shelling. Some buildings have completely collapsed.

Ukrainian civilians in

Authorities in Russian-held Mariupol are distributing food and water to residents. AFP photo

“We don’t live, we exist”

With no running water, no electricity, no gas, no mobile network and no internet – the daily lives of the people of Mariupol are now dominated by the hunt for the most basic everyday things.

On the day the AFP team arrived in the city, the separatist government organized a distribution of aid in front of the hole-filled walls and broken windows of a local school.

About 200 people gathered behind a military truck as volunteers handed out food packages – pasta, oil and some other food – marked with the letter “Z”. Not far away, two tank trucks dispense drinking water.

“We don’t live, we exist,” shared Irina, a 30-year-old video game designer.

“I want to go, but where to go”?

Many residents of the city of Mariupol – home to some 450,000 people before the conflict – fled as Russian forces advanced.

It is unclear how many people are left trapped inside the city but those left behind now have no hope of being able to evacuate.

“I want to go, but where to go?” Kristina Burdiuk, a 25-year-old pharmacist – going home with two other young girls, each holding a large loaf of bread to her chest – asked.

Burdiuk said she saw cars carrying families get punctured as they tried to escape the city. She didn’t know who shot them.

So she chose to stay in Mariupol, with her husband, mother and grandmother. She plans to accept an offer to work for the new government, clearing rubble, helping clear landmines – a salary currently paid in Russian rubles.

“I’m willing to do anything,” she said.

Irina, the video game designer, says she can’t work without an internet or phone line and – much worse – can’t contact her loved ones outside of the city.

During the aid distribution, a woman in her 60s began questioning an official, and soon a group of people gathered around him.

“When will we get our pension? When will schools reopen? What about the shops?”, everyone asked in a rush.

“We’re doing our best,” said the official, wearing a camouflage uniform and military cap. “The priority is to ensure security and clean up the city.”

Despite the presence of some armed soldiers, one angry young man: “We asked specific questions, give us specific answers!”. But the response was silence.

As she prepared to go home from the food and water aid distribution, Irina wanted to believe that “the worst is over”.

She hopes she can “survive a few weeks, a few months, until the situation gets better”.

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