The scorched hell of Mariupol was captured by a photographer who fled the ghost city with his family and revealed: "We went to sleep at night not knowing if we’d wake up."
Sergiy Makarov , 34, took stark images and videos of obliterated buildings and innocent civilians crammed into basement bunkers during the four-week bombardment of the southern port city.
He told how locals had to dive into ditches to avoid relentless Russian airstrikes thought to have killed more than 2,500 people. Ukrainian officials estimate 300 people died when a drama theatre housing displaced residents was bombed.
Sergiy risked his escape from Mariupol with family members including his wife Inna, 34, and elderly mother after enduring horror conditions.
He said: "Temperatures dropped to minus nine outside, and we were freezing cold, living with around 150 other people who were sheltering from the bombs. We had no access to electricity or gas, and my wife was terrified about how we could survive.
"A small hatch gave us the opportunity to breathe and get some air inside the shelter, but otherwise we were living in darkness with nothing but candles to use for light.
"There were lots of people from other districts settled in our basement, including very young children, newborn infants and breastfeeding mothers. Some were sleeping on mattresses, while others laid down on the hard concrete floor. Volunteer support wasn’t available where we were, so we were constantly thirsty and hungry.
"Once a Ukrainian soldier visited the garden and we told him we couldn’t reach our water spring because of the bombings. He brought back a small amount of food that we were able to share.
"Our neighbour was forced to kill his cat, because he couldn’t bear her suffering while she was starving to death."
Sergiy, fled to Berdyansk, 60 miles away, before travelling further to the west of Ukraine, where he may be drafted to fight. His wife has fled to Poland.
He said: "We had no idea if we’d get another chance to leave so a group of us began to plan our escape.
"As we prepared, a lot of my friends were begging their parents to join us but many refused. They didn’t want to leave the houses they’d built for themselves.
"A group of friends and family drove in eight separate cars towards Berdyansk without knowing where we were going or what we’d do when we arrived.
"I just knew we had to leave the city due to the relentless bombing. It was better to risk escape, with the possibility of safety at the end, than stay at home.
"When we reached the second checkpoint we were detained by Russian soldiers but they let us go after two hours. Volunteers in Berdyansk suggested we seek shelter in a school but we managed to find a recreation centre and stayed there.
"Being able to shower for the first time in 12 days was almost a euphoric feeling."
More than 100,000 people still need to be evacuated from Mariupol, Ukraine deputy PM Iryna Vereshchuk said on Saturday.
The mayor of Mariupol said he had spoken to France's ambassador to Ukraine about options for evacuating civilians, after president Emmanuel Macron vowed to propose a plan to Russia to help people flee.
Sergiy, who does not know when he will see his wife again, added: "I thought that Mariupol would be impossible to occupy. Now I'm trying to build my life in a new place and praying every day that the war will be over soon and that I can be reunited with my family."
