By Alessandra Prentice

ZAPORIZHZHIA (Ukraine) – At five storeys beneath Azovstal’s steelworks, Ukrainian soldiers informed Nataliya Babeush that she only had a minute to get out of the underground bunker where she lived for over two months.

He only took a few drawings from children aged 35: Some sketches of flowers or food, which were helpful in cheering dozens upon dozens of civilians trapped for many weeks within the concrete warren.

She said, “I’ll keep their as long as they can,” after a humanitarian convoy took her Sunday to Zaporizhzhia (in southeast Ukraine).

Babeush and hundreds of others had sought refuge in the enormous complex beneath the Azovstal plant soon after Russia invaded Ukraine in the early hours of Feb. 24 and laid siege to the port city of Mariupol.

The plant was meant to be a temporary shelter for Azovstal before she could flee elsewhere. Azovstal was the focal point of fierce fighting during the war, and the refuge turned into a trap.

Reuters talked to four evacuees of the plant, who endured weeks underground living in darkness and dank conditions under bombardment in the many bunkers at the steelworks. The four evacuees described how they were bonded together by the need to survive and to be able to ration food while keeping their spirits up as Russian troops drew near.

“Every second of it was horrible. Valentyna Demyanchuk (51), a nurse, said it was very terrifying underground.

Russia strongly denies that it targeted civilians during the conflict. It calls this a special military operation to demilitarize Ukraine. Kyiv claims that thousands of civilians died in Mariupol, and accuses Moscow of war crimes.

Russia’s Defence Ministry and Ukraine’s Government did not reply to requests for comment regarding the testimony of women.

The bombardment at Mariupol on Day 1 of World War II woke all four of them up in the morning.

Larisa, a 49-year old accountant fled her East Side apartment when the fighting got closer. Although she hoped to be able to see her daughter’s relatives on the other side, there were no cell phone reception.

“Lots of buildings were burning … and shells whistled overhead,” she said. Her only option was Azovstal, which she said would be her last refuge.

She would then be among the first civilians evacuated from the plant on May 6, two months later by the United Nations (ICRC). 

SURVIVAL

About 40 of those who stayed at Solop’s shelter came in March. Some had nothing but their clothing, while others carried a small bag of food, such as pasta or canned vegetables, and some other items.

Babeush, an ex-plant worker, was the chief cook. He stirred soup on a concrete stove above their bunker.

Demyanchuk laughed ruefully, “The children called her Auntie Soup.” According to her, the group consumed one meal per day.

In March, a strike shut down all electricity supplies and the entire group went into complete darkness. Some of them started to reduce the supply of candles and others created little lamps from small batteries.

According to women, as the bombing escalated, people tried to escape but couldn’t get to the perimeter of the building before retreating to the shelter.

“Planes from the sea were bombing so much that we couldn’t even get outside,” said Solop, recalling her elderly father being knocked off his feet in the bunker by the force of a blast.

Babeush encouraged eight of the nine children to paint workers’ helmets, as distraction. The robot costume was made from a cardboard box that had holes in the lid for eyes. A drawing contest was organized at Orthodox Easter. Everybody voted, and the first prize went to a can of meat paste.

She loved drawing a pie with intricately drawn strings of cheese and her favorite pizza.

Babeush, however, was not open to the possibility. She wrote her parents’ phone numbers inside her jacket in case she died in the bunker. “I did not think that we would get out.”

    ESCAPE

    Demyanchuk, her husband, son and elderly mother were among the first to make a break for it. They were tired of all the shelling and decided to walk the remaining distance on March 26, even though their mother required two walking sticks to complete the journey.

Demyanchuk spoke by telephone from the Ukraine’s central Ukraine early in May, saying that “the food was running out” and that she had become tired of being underground.

    Demyanchuk said the soldiers made her wait for when the skies appeared clearer and urged them to move as fast as possible. They didn’t try to prevent her from leaving.

The journey from Ukraine to the territory under Ukrainian control took several days. They walked by buildings with freshly dug graves and saw the corpse of a soldier along the coast as the bombers flew overhead.

However, when she left the bunker she reported feeling an “indescribable sensation of freedom”.

Other women, however, had to wait more than one month before they heard via their crackly radio about international efforts to evacuate civilians.

“It gave us a bit of strength that soon, in just a little bit more time, we would get out of there,” said 25-year-old Tetyana Trotsak, whose asthmatic mother was suffering in the damp air.

Early May saw the start of evacuation after a ceasefire in place. The evacuation was difficult for all those trapped in the bunker. They were only allowed to evacuate in stages.

     “The hardest part was waiting and hoping we’d get out. Solop said that it was difficult to believe.

    Food was running dangerously low, even with extra rations shared by the Ukrainian forces who were holed up in another part of the plant that had become their last redoubt after Russian troops seized control of Mariupol.    

    Eleven people, including families with children and people with health problems, went first, clambering out of the bunker and weaving their way through rubble to get to a convoy of buses.

Solop stated, “We were so glad for them. But we stayed and thought, what if? They’ve taken that group and aren’t able to do anymore?”

     A couple of days later, the soldiers told Babeush and others they had five minutes to get ready. The soldiers were instructed to rush to get to buses, or else the last group of bunkers might not be able to evacuate on that day.

Babeush took only a handful of drawings, which were taped to the shelter. “The war taught me I don’t need any material objects. She said that for life you don’t require anything, but only people who you can trust.”