Members-Only Article

‘Nobody Will Save You’: One Refugee’s Account Of Escaping Mariupol

MARIUPOL, UKRAINE - MARCH 26: Collapsed building is seen as civilians are being evacuated along humanitarian corridors from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol under the control of Russian military and pro-Russian separat... MARIUPOL, UKRAINE - MARCH 26: Collapsed building is seen as civilians are being evacuated along humanitarian corridors from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol under the control of Russian military and pro-Russian separatists, on March 26, 2022. (Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) MORE LESS

March 28, 2022 4:24 p.m.

Svetlana Nikolaevna was trying desperately to get out of Mariupol.

The city was burning, and Russian troops were closing in. People told dark jokes about Russian troops praying at a nearby cathedral, as shells continued to fly into high-rises, seemingly at random.

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