"I was tormented by the thought of how my child would die of hunger"

Anna lived in the Kalmiuskyi district of Mariupol together with her little daughter and mother.

"Our morning started at 5:25. I said: 'Mom, the war has started.' At first, we sat in the bathroom. I realized that there would be no more peace in Mariupol. The day before, I had bought batteries, a flashlight, food. I cleaned out the basement.

I remember how a tree was burning and crackling. There were elderly people and children in the basement. It was very frightening.

My mother cooked food, she also fetched water. I protected my child. I was breastfeeding. People would come and give us food, cookies. A colleague would bring tea, hot food, so that I wouldn’t lose my milk. It’s hard when you have a small child in your arms. When darkness came, I sat in the bathroom, rocking the child on a pillow. From March 2 to March 18, I didn’t sleep and constantly monitored the situation.

The food was running out. I was tormented by the thought of how my child would die of hunger. When the child heard explosions, she would say: 'Boom, boom.'

I saw how neighbors carried out an old woman who had died alone. What to do with her? That was the first corpse. Near the building, they began to set up a cemetery...

When we passed through the checkpoints, the occupiers asked if I needed help, if they could give the child some cookies. A dissonance in the mind. They came to our land, destroyed our city, annihilated our people. And they smile at checkpoints and offer cookies and help," said Mariupol resident Anna Kolenchenko.