"My relatives lived in Mariupol. They were there during the entire blockade. I didn't know if they were alive for two months. The connection in Mariupol disappeared almost at the beginning of the invasion. It was only at the end of April 2022 that I finally saw them and heard all the horrors they had to endure.

My son-in-law was handed over by pro-Russian neighbours because he was Ukrainian-speaking, and the occupiers tortured him ‘in the basement’. They broke his ribs. My father didn't speak for several months after the evacuation, he was in such a difficult psychological state. My nephew was 11 years old at the time and he saw a lot of deaths in Mariupol, including his friends. Even in the safe city of Cherkasy, it seemed to my family that tanks were driving by and trees were burning,” says Iryna Syvak. She considers it a real miracle that her family survived in Mariupol.