Ukranians with family trapped in war-ravaged Mariupol have told of their relief at finding out they are alive and have escaped the bloodshed.
Up to 20,000 civilians are believed to have died since Russian troops encircled, besieged and bombarded the coastal city, with bodies lying on the streets and children dying of thirst.
Trapped residents have been running out of food and water, with an estimated 300,000 people living without heating or electricity.
Last week, small groups started to flee in cars and risk losing their lives during the escape, rather than face death by staying.
Maryna Boreiko, 30, got word on Friday that her mother and 85-year-old grandmother were still alive after losing contact on March 2.
Her boyfriend Serhii Rozhkov drove for 11 hours to rescue Maryna’s mum Polina Boreiko and his own parents from the ravaged city, with the group taking shelter in Berdynask 50 miles away.
The mother and daughter were finally reunited on Sunday.
She said: “My grandmother has had to stay, she cannot manage such a dangerous road. She is staying with my cousin. He is a nurse, which makes me calmer.
“My brother and his wife also got out of Mariupol. They are in a village nearby as they ran out of gas.
“They haven’t been able to tell me much about conditions in Mariupol because they are afraid of being overheard by Russian occupiers."
Maryna and her boyfriend fled their home in Kharkiv when it was hit by shelling the day war broke out, taking refuge at a friend’s empty flat in Kryvyi Rig.
But the Mariupol natives had advised their families to stay put and not panic.
The marketing specialist said: “I’m blaming myself. I could have insisted they leave Mariupol the day the war started. Instead I said to them it will be okay, don't panic.
"And my mummy didn't panic. In the first days of the war, she even went to work.
“She works with small organisations that supply stories with essentials. And she was joking: 'If I leave the city, then who will take orders for toilet paper?'
"Now this joke doesn't seem funny to me.”
Maryna is still anxiously waiting for news of her 12-year-old goddaughter Lera and her family however.
She said: "I’m afraid my goddaughter could be in the drama theatre that was bombed. Her family lived nearby.”
Maryna has a treasured picture of herself with the schoolgirl in a square that has been completely destroyed by bombs.
She said: "I don't care about the square but I am afraid to think my sweet girl might not be alive any more."
Her friend Veronica Vishnevski also lost direct contact with her extended family on March 2 but got word on Friday that her mother Lilia Maltseva, 63, was alive.
Russian-born Lilia’s last words to her had been: “Care only about Ukraine, don't think about me too much.”
She said: “My mum told me she escaped from our district on March 9, because Ukrainian soldiers came to civilians and said that the district could be harshly bombed.
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“She wrote that our district is completely destroyed, she doesn’t have a place to live in and Russia hit a building nearby with an air bomb.
“One lady could not escape because her husband has a disability.
“They spent the night in a village occupied by Russia. They met adorable Ukrainian people, who fed them and treated them really good.
“My family tried to pay for food and bed, but the hosts started crying.
“Mum said she was extremely exhausted and also wanted to have a bath as she has been two weeks without a shower.”
Her mum has now moved onto Dnipro, 185 miles north-west of Mariupol.
Veronica and her husband Anton, who is Ukrainian Jewish, emigrated to Israel four months ago without knowing war would come to their homeland.
Her mum is a retired electrician who was widowed 20 years ago and is travelling with her sister-in-law Natalia and nephew Fedor, as her brother Ilia is a sailor and on a ship in Mississippi.
“We’ve discussed it and my mum has agreed to live in Israel, as it is possible for family members to come here,” she said.
“My friends still don’t know anything about their parents. I don’t know why I am so lucky.
“I hope that all Mariupol citizens will find a way from this hell. And all Ukrainians are looking forward to the end of Putin's war.”
