Mariupol: Stories of the Unconquered

Mariupol... Our common pain. The enemy almost leveled Mariupol to the ground, turning it into a cemetery with thousands of dead residents. Drama theatre, maternity hospital, Azovstal - places whose terrible fate stirred up the whole world. However, despite the fire and death, Mariupol did not give up and became a symbol of the struggle and invincibility of Ukrainians. 

In the Stories of the Unconquered, the experienced horrors sounds in the voices of Mariupol residents, are reflected in their eyes, find a place in the lines of their diaries. The residents of Mariupol entrusted their stories to the Museum of Civilian Voices in order to share the pain and never forget the experienced pane for the sake of a peaceful and better future for Ukraine.

 

 
 

 

 

 Photojournalist Yevhen Maloletka: “We have never seen such a massive use of artillery anywhere as in Mariupol”
25.05.2022
Evgeny Maloletka
Photojournalist Yevhen Maloletka: “We have never seen such a massive use of artillery anywhere as in Mariupol”
“When we left Azovstal, we found ourselves in the middle of a battle. Mines were flying over us, bullets were whistling”
27.03.2024
Sergey Dukhno
“When we left Azovstal, we found ourselves in the middle of a battle. Mines were flying over us, bullets were whistling”
Mum, open the windows, lets give people joy, my violinist daughter used to say
27.03.2024
Oksana Repetska
"Mum, open the windows, let's give people joy," my violinist daughter used to say"
 «Dead people, children, crosses… But we had a goal – to get out»
28.03.2024
Oleksandr Melnyk
«Dead people, children, crosses… But we had a goal – to get out»
Shoot, but give my wife some milk. Shes on the second floor at the prenatal care
28.03.2024
Karolina Savosina
"Shoot, but give my wife some milk. She's on the second floor at the prenatal care"
 I saw everything: destroyed houses, dead bodies lying in the street
28.03.2024
Natalya Davidulina
"I saw everything: destroyed houses, dead bodies lying in the street"
After the airstrike on the maternity hospital, two-hour-old babies in light nappies were brought out. I wrapped my baby in my scarf
29.03.2024
Anna Camarali
"After the airstrike on the maternity hospital, two-hour-old babies in light nappies were brought out. I wrapped my baby in my scarf"
“The walls were burning, people were burning. We could hear them screaming”
03.04.2024
Olga Buryachenko
“The walls were burning, people were burning. We could hear them screaming”
A russian tank drove into the yard. And in our flat, without knocking, the occupier came
03.04.2024
Valentina Alekseeva
"A russian tank drove into the yard. And in our flat, without knocking, the occupier came"
 My family was deported to russia
05.04.2024
Svitlana Frolkina
"My family was deported to russia"
We left Mariupol on foot. Corpses were on the streets, shells were whistling overhead
06.04.2024
Marta Panchenko
"We left Mariupol on foot. Corpses were on the streets, shells were whistling overhead"
If they find me, they will hardly leave me alive. I started screaming loudly
07.04.2024
Ihor Georgiyovych Kaznacheev
"If they find me, they will hardly leave me alive. I started screaming loudly"
After the explosion in the Drama Theatre, my mother was covered in blood. She had an open head injury
08.04.2024
Julia Moroz
"After the explosion in the Drama Theatre, my mother was covered in blood. She had an open head injury"
A six-year-old girl asked: Are you my dad? And her father was crushed in the Drama Theater
09.04.2024
Vasyl Moroz
"A six-year-old girl asked: "Are you my dad?" And her father was crushed in the Drama Theater"
 You either burn alive in the basement or come out under fire, there was no other choice
09.04.2024
Oleksandr Tkachenko
"You either burn alive in the basement or come out under fire, there was no other choice"
 We will always have a wound in our hearts
15.04.2024
Evgeny Tuzov
"We will always have a wound in our hearts"
“Being a mother at Azovstal is indeed the motherhood of steel”
14.06.2023
Anna Zaitseva
“Being a mother at Azovstal is indeed the motherhood of steel”
“We spent 25 days in the Azovstal bunker. It was hell on earth”
28.07.2023
Serhiy Vasyliovych Duhno
“We spent 25 days in the Azovstal bunker. It was hell on earth”
“He was so hungry that he ate his friend’s toys”
02.09.2022
Volodymyr and Maria Bespali
“He was so hungry that he ate his friend’s toys”
These photos are a small part of what happened to me and my family in Mariupol
05.09.2022
Evgeny Sosnovsky
"These photos are a small part of what happened to me and my family in Mariupol"
“We were the first volunteers who went to rescue people from Mariupol by bus”
20.09.2022
Yana Andriivna Vinokourova
“We were the first volunteers who went to rescue people from Mariupol by bus”
“We will never forgive them. For the people who died”
22.09.2022
Oleksandra Stolyar
“We will never forgive them. For the people who died”
The whole maternity hospital bounced up and down from the explosion
25.05.2022
Olena Shilova
"The whole maternity hospital bounced up and down from the explosion"
This was hell. That month… I will never forget it
25.05.2022
Sofia Silyutina
"This was hell. That month… I will never forget it"
“I would have never forgiven myself if this girl had been taken to an orphanage”
26.05.2022
Valeria Valerievna Zelenskaya
“I would have never forgiven myself if this girl had been taken to an orphanage”
“Hunger was a problem worse than air raids. Hunger and lack of water”
29.05.2022
Zlatoslava Malinovskaya
“Hunger was a problem worse than air raids. Hunger and lack of water”
russians had orders to shoot ambulances
02.08.2022
Anna Galiy
"russians had orders to shoot ambulances"
“Ukrainian Mariupol will be reborn. We will wait. I agree to wait”
01.08.2022
Larisa Troyanova
“Ukrainian Mariupol will be reborn. We will wait. I agree to wait”
The most terrible day was when the theatre and maternity hospital were bombed
03.08.2022
Lyudmila Kovbasovska
"The most terrible day was when the theatre and maternity hospital were bombed"
“I am Makar and I am seven years old today. And this is my home”  “Thank you to our “liberators” from russia for doing this”
15.08.2022
Irina Nikolaevna Ermakova
“I am Makar and I am seven years old today. And this is my home” “Thank you to our “liberators” from russia for doing this”
Hits on «Azovstal» started on March 3
09.08.2022
Dmitry Savchenko
"Hits on «Azovstal» started on March 3"
I was pulling a fallen tree and noticed a torn human body
21.06.2022
Lilia Petrovna Malytska
"I was pulling a fallen tree and noticed a torn human body"
We were not afraid of mortars, Grad rockets or tanks. We were afraid when the plane was flying
28.06.2022
Оlexander Chekunov
"We were not afraid of mortars, Grad rockets or tanks. We were afraid when the plane was flying"
I heard a bang and didnt understand what happened. I was stunned, then I saw that my leg was covered in blood
04.08.2022
Maxim Vasilenko Sergeevich
"I heard a bang and didn't understand what happened. I was stunned, then I saw that my leg was covered in blood"
Grandfather died, and I have a wound on my back. My sister has the skin on her head slashed. My mum had a piece of flesh on her arm torn off and a hole in her leg
29.06.2022
Elena Vladimirovna Kravtsova
"Grandfather died, and I have a wound on my back. My sister has the skin on her head slashed. My mum had a piece of flesh on her arm torn off and a hole in her leg"
We ran one step - alive
17.08.2022
Larysa Shurkhovetska
"We ran one step - alive"
You are taken by DPR soldiers with machine guns; they enter a nine-story building and set up headquarters for interrogations there
05.08.2022
Denis Minin
"You are taken by "DPR" soldiers with machine guns; they enter a nine-story building and set up headquarters for interrogations there"
If this bomb had hit the radiology [department], it would have been a small Chornobyl
11.07.2022
Dmytro Viktorovich Dmytro
"If this bomb had hit the radiology [department], it would have been a small Chornobyl"
“People were heard groaning under the rubble”
07.08.2022
Nadia Astanina
“People were heard groaning under the rubble”
The key to a new life
14.07.2022
Dmytro Plaksin
"The key to a new life"
World champion Oleksandr Komarov: “Planes were flying and dropping their bombs day and night”
16.07.2022
Oleksandr Komarov
World champion Oleksandr Komarov: “Planes were flying and dropping their bombs day and night”
We saw a tank through the window and heard, “Mariupol, surrender!
17.07.2022
Svitlana Puz
"We saw a tank through the window and heard, “Mariupol, surrender!"
European champion Stanislav Oliferchyk: We just burst into tears when we saw each other
19.07.2022
Stanislav Oliferchyk
European champion Stanislav Oliferchyk: "We just burst into tears when we saw each other"
Yevhen Bal was unable to recover from the torture
20.07.2022
Eugene Bal
"Yevhen Bal was unable to recover from the torture"
My son takes off his hat and all his hair is grey. The child is only eight years old
27.07.2022
Tatyana Vovk
"My son takes off his hat and all his hair is grey. The child is only eight years old"
The occupiers made a human shield in the hospital. They drove people there
06.08.2022
Maxim Povnenky
"The occupiers made a human shield in the hospital. They drove people there"
“The entire staff of Mariupol University are heroes”
11.08.2022
Mykola Trofymenko
“The entire staff of Mariupol University are heroes”
When I write, it becomes much easier for me, I share my pain
16.08.2022
Nadiya Sukhorukova
"When I write, it becomes much easier for me, I share my pain"
In the basement, we rescued the wounded, performed operations and even performed limb amputations
22.08.2022
Victoria Oleksandrivna Pashkova
"In the basement, we rescued the wounded, performed operations and even performed limb amputations"
Everything around was damaged and burned. The Drama Theatre did not exist anymore.
08.07.2022
Vera Lebedynska
"Everything around was damaged and burned. The Drama Theatre did not exist anymore."
In Mariupol, one was more likely to die than to get out alive
28.06.2022
Tatiana Zhuk
"In Mariupol, one was more likely to die than to get out alive"
People with burns and severed limbs were brought to us
20.06.2022
Vasil Kasyanov
"People with burns and severed limbs were brought to us"
Bard Bohdan Koval: My wife was jealous that I did not see all the horrors of war
20.06.2022
Bogdan Оlexandrovich Koval
Bard Bohdan Koval: "My wife was jealous that I did not see all the horrors of war"
The airstrike on the Drama Theatre was not an accident
20.06.2022
Maria Boyko
"The airstrike on the Drama Theatre was not an accident"
He didn’t leave his native city, Mariupol, regardless of the shelling and the siege
15.06.2022
Andriy Diakonov
"He didn’t leave his native city, Mariupol, regardless of the shelling and the siege"
The eyes of new-borns were covered with earth
25.05.2022
Iryna Korobka
"The eyes of new-borns were covered with earth"
Vany from Mariupol rescued the cat by covering it with his own body
20.05.2022
Olga Khomenko
"Vany from Mariupol rescued the cat by covering it with his own body"
Paramedic Anton Shaulskyi: “Despair was the worst enemy for me”
11.05.2022
Anton Shaulsky
Paramedic Anton Shaulskyi: “Despair was the worst enemy for me”
“They burned down the house. They burned down my daughter”
06.04.2022
Vladimir Pinaev
“They burned down the house. They burned down my daughter”
When I was due to give birth, there was an air strike on the Mariupol maternity hospital
05.04.2022
Mariya Bila
"When I was due to give birth, there was an air strike on the Mariupol maternity hospital"
Art diary from Mariupol: “I am torn to pieces when I see how my city is razed to the ground
12.04.2022
Anastasia Ponomareva
"Art diary from Mariupol: “I am torn to pieces when I see how my city is razed to the ground"
“I do not know how we managed to escape from captivity. This is just a miracle”
02.05.2022
Elena Perkova
“I do not know how we managed to escape from captivity. This is just a miracle”
Everyone knew that there were children in the drama theatre. It’s a miracle that we managed to remain alive there
13.04.2022
Victoria Dubovitskaya
"Everyone knew that there were children in the drama theatre. It’s a miracle that we managed to remain alive there"
“For the first time I told people that their relatives were gone”
10.04.2022
Alevtina Shvetsova
“For the first time I told people that their relatives were gone”
I was crying, “Serhiy!” not realizing that I was crying into the open sky instead of our flat!
21.04.2022
Nadezhda Shkolnaya-Voloshinova
"I was crying, “Serhiy!” not realizing that I was crying into the open sky instead of our flat!"
We found some white paint, a paint roller, and “Children” signs appeared on both sides of the Drama Theatre
05.06.2022
Eugene Zabogonskaya
"We found some white paint, a paint roller, and “Children” signs appeared on both sides of the Drama Theatre"
 We were shocked when we saw through the wound how the girl’s heart was beating
01.06.2022
Sergey Chornobryvets
"We were shocked when we saw through the wound how the girl’s heart was beating"
“Recording of a video diary helped me to hold it out in Mariupol”
11.04.2022
Alena Zagreba
“Recording of a video diary helped me to hold it out in Mariupol”
For two months, we lived in hell itself, at Azovstal plant
01.06.2022
Anna Konstantinovna Antropova
"For two months, we lived in hell itself, at Azovstal plant"
Kids in the Azovstal bomb shelter called me Aunt Soup
01.06.2022
Natalia Vladimirovna Babeush
"Kids in the Azovstal bomb shelter called me Aunt Soup"
All the residents of our 10-storey building recited one and the same prayer at the same time. May be that is why we survived in that hell
17.05.2022
Nikolay Osychenko
"All the residents of our 10-storey building recited one and the same prayer at the same time. May be that is why we survived in that hell"
I asked God for an easy death….
02.05.2022
Mariya Vdovychenko
"I asked God for an easy death…."
“Half-alive people were seen under the rubble of the Drama Theatre. We survived by miracle”
22.05.2022
Elizabeth
“Half-alive people were seen under the rubble of the Drama Theatre. We survived by miracle”
“Wounded people at Azovstal are rotting alive”
06.05.2022
Serhiy Olegovich Kuzmenko
“Wounded people at Azovstal are rotting alive”
Voices of the murdered. The war diary of Kateryna Savenko from Mariupol
24.02.2024
Kateryna Savenko
Voices of the murdered. The war diary of Kateryna Savenko from Mariupol
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