By Pavel Klimov

MARIUPOL (Ukraine) – Mariupol is a place where you have to make desperate escapes from bomb explosions or follow basic survival procedures. All this happens amid all the rubble.

In clearing out debris, uncollected bodies covered in blankets, coats and other coverings lie in courtyards. Common graves are common places for those who have been killed.

You can see the tower blocks and their blackened shells, typical Soviet-era housings. Broken windows and twisted metal are all found on balconies. There is also a lot of metal, woods and other debris scattered among buildings and streets.

According to authorities, around 400,000 people are trapped in the port city at the Sea of Azov, where they have shelter from the heavy bombardment which has cut off central supply of electricity, heating, and water.

Russia’s defense ministry stated Friday that it was “tightening” the noose around Mariupol, and that the fighting had reached the centre of the city.

Women are forced to make do with what little they have. There isn’t any snow that melts for water as spring nears.

Post-Soviet Ukraine’s residents claim that no one anticipated this — an incessant onslaught by what was thought to be a “fraternal Russia” — although some people have survived other turmoils which brought the country under Soviet control.

Alexander, who was 57 years old, stopped to look at the location where the mother of his wife is now.

My mother-in law was born in 1936. He said that she survived the Siege of Leningrad, which was the Nazi-infested 900-day siege on the city known today as St. Petersburg. “She was an honored worker in Russian Federation fish farming. That is why she is here.

According to Mariupol officials, 2,500 Ukrainians have been killed since Russian troops crossed the border with Ukraine on February 24, 2014.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Donetsk Region said Friday that 35,000 people had left the city over the past few days. Many were on foot and in private car convoys during rare times when Russian shelling ceases.

Some people left may feel depressed, with the fear and anxiety of being alone.

“I feel terrible. Although I do not want to be blamed, I feel disgusted. Olga, a woman wearing a pink cap under her hoodie, big coat and a jacket, said, “And I’m cold.” I don’t know what to say. “I wasn’t prepared for this to happen in my life.”

Russia claims it has not attacked civilians and accuses Kyiv that they used them as human shields. This is something Ukrainian officials have denied.

Mariupol was a prize that the Russians used to make a link between Crimea which Moscow annexed in 2014 and eastern Ukraine’s separatist enclaves.

The bombing of a hospital for pregnant women left many patients running into the streets. Another theatre, which was meant to provide shelter to families forced from homes, was bombed last week. This happened despite letters large enough for pilots to read outside the theater.

There is a growing sense of solidarity among those who are afraid for their lives. Strangers will take in strangers.

“We spent 2 days in the basement. She could not move. “I thought she would die,” said one resident of middle age gesturing at her mother, an elderly woman.

“Then they managed to escape the basement. It was the first time that I had ever seen them. We were sheltered by them. Here we are, wrapped in blankets. It is very cold. It’s so cold. We want to get home.”

Children, look on, uncomprehending.

Don’t worry my darling. “Everything will be alright,” said a smiling young mother hugging her school-age kids.

In the courtyard, many men wandered aimlessly and surveyed the destruction of the buildings.

They were surrounded by the bodies. Only scraps of paper are used as identifiers. Each one has a name, a birth date, and an end date. They are not even indicated when they will arrive.