Inside Mariupol: Fires, no water, and bodies in the street
A ceasefire, and a chance for civilians to leave, was announced on Saturday morning in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, where an estimated 200,000 people are trapped under heavy bombardment by Russian forces.
Maxim, a 27-year-old IT developer who is caring for his grandparents in their six-floor apartment, spoke to the BBC on Saturday night to describe a day that began with hope and ended in despair.As fast as I could, I packed four bags for me and my grandparents with warm clothes and food, and all of our remaining water, and I packed them into my car.
So I am still in my grandparents' apartment and the shelling and bombing has continued all day. But now instead of three of us here, there are nearly 20. I know three of the people from before, from my neighbourhood, but the rest I do not know. The oldest is a woman in her late 70s, the youngest is a small child. We also have two cats, a parrot and a dog.