“There was no water, no electricity, no heat—and it was unbearably cold,” Larissa described the conditions. She had to care for her immobile mother, but “there was nothing we could do for her. We were living like animals!”
Two snipers set up positions near the closest sources of water. Every trip for water was dangerous. Snipers and bombs were a daily occurrence.
“Every time a bomb fell, the entire building shook. My mother kept saying she didn’t remember anything like this during the Great Patriotic War (World War II).”
She was a Holocaust survivor who thought seen the worst in humanity, as a child. But the Russian forces are showing the world a new evil.
Vanda was half-starved and bedridden. She lived in fear of the constant nearby bombing. And the family’s house was destroyed while they hid in the basement. When Vanda died the family was able to escape. With the help of Rabbi Cohen’s synagogue and community center, they were able to leave the city.
Mariupol was destroyed, many casualties
Ukraine soldiers have been courageous against overwhelming odds in Mariupol, and weeks ago Russia issued a surrender-or-die demand. Zelensky has named it a “Hero City.”
