An injured pregnant woman walks downstairs in the damaged by shelling maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 9, 2022 (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

Originally published by The Guardian:

The account of Tanya, 18, a student from Mariupol who is studying abroad, as she finally made contact with her mother and brother in the besieged city of Mariupol:

Yesterday my brother and my mum managed to find a spot where they could find a connection to call us. They were risking their lives going outside but they know me and my dad are extremely worried about them. They were on the phone for four or five minutes. My brother was trying to be positive but I could hear in his voice that he’s feeling desperate and they don’t know how they’re going to leave the city. It’s been one week without enough food and water, without electricity, and without heating and it’s hard because Mariupol is pretty cold.

I was born in Mariupol and I lived there for the last 10 years. In the last few years, our mayor made many changes; lots of areas have been rebuilt, and it has become a much more beautiful city. There was even a new shopping centre. And now everything is destroyed.

I can’t imagine this is happening now. I feel this is surreal. I feel like I’m just dreaming and as I’m talking about it, my hands are shaking, it’s so hard to process. Thankfully my dad, who’s a ship engineer, was onboard when the war started. Now we’re together in Germany where his company is based. Normally I’m studying in another country but I’m with him because he can’t handle it. He’s very emotional, he’s crying every five minutes because his wife and son – my mum and brother – are in Mariupol.

My brother told us that a rocket had hit the neighbouring building to the underground car park he and my mum are living in. It’s safer in the carpark than our apartment, which is on the 5th floor and is very dangerous because some of the buildings around it have been completely bombed. They’re sleeping in the car, so they can keep a little bit warm and can charge their phone. There are around 10 or 12 people down there, and my brother told me that everyone is trying to help each other; if someone has spare food or water, they share it.

There is very little food and water now. I know my mum and my brother cooked a huge amount of porridge at the beginning, a week ago, when they still had electricity. They also filled the bath in the apartment with water. They did some shopping to stock up when the war started but it’s never enough.

My mum told us, on the phone, that they’ve lost so much weight, she said it’s because they’re so stressed. She said: “Without food, that’s fine, you know. We’re not scared anymore, we’re just tired, tired from this situation. There’s no fear now, we kind of get used to all this, shooting – that’s fine, bombing – that’s fine.” She said they’re not craving food anymore, even though they’re hungry. They’re just so tired. They want to leave, they want to be safe.

I heard in news reports that a kid died of dehydration. I couldn’t believe it was possible to die of dehydration in the city, in 2022. It’s crazy, it’s really crazy.

It made me and my dad feel a little bit happier yesterday because we heard their voices. They were trying so hard to be positive when they were talking to us. My brother said we have to be strong and we have to believe in them and in Mariupol and that they will win and they will survive. My mum said “Hope dies last” even when you’re devastated and destroyed emotionally, you have to believe in the best.