Long road out of Ukraine: How a family escaped besieged Mariupol on foot

Although Ukraine continues to witness its collapse at the hands of Russia, its civilians continue to display valour and instil hope in times of great torment. 

Yevgen and Tetiana once knew a life filled with joy and serenity in their hometown of Mariupol. Fast forward to today, the Ukrainian couple has witnessed loss, suffering, and yet, a glimmer of hope amid Russian bombardments.
As Russian attacks destroyed their hometown, Yevgen and Tetiana, along with their four kids, decided to flee on foot to a safe haven some 125 kilometers away. 

Sharing their story with AFP, the Ukrainian couple recalled how they explained devastation, corpses and gut wrenching sounds of explosion to their kids- Yulia (6), Oleksandr (8), Anna (10), and Ivan (12).

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“We explained to them for two months, while we were in the cellar, where we would go… We prepared them for this long journey,” Tetiana Komisarova told AFP on Friday in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. 

“They saw it as an adventure,” she said. 

Last week, Tetiana (40), along with her husband Yevgen Tishchenko (37), finally decided to set their plan in motion. 

As the couple moved their children out of their building for the first time since the Russian invasion, the family of six saw nothing but complete devastation all around. 

“When the kids saw, they walked in silence,” Yevgen said.

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“I don’t know what was going on in their heads. Maybe they too couldn’t believe that our city no longer existed,” he added.

As Yevgen spoke, 10-year-old Anna described how it was like to briefly live underground.

“Sleeping on the concrete was not great,” she said, adding that when the explosions occurred, “we weren’t so scared”.

After living in the basement for a while, the Ukrainian family realized that it was time to pack their “heavy” bags and leave the besieged port city.

“My wife pushed our youngest girl on her tricycle. And I pushed the cart, often with one of the children perched on the bags. The other two walked beside me” Yevgen said.

After five days of vagabonding and four nights of sleeping in rooms offered by locals, the family met Dmytro Zhirnikov, who was driving through the town of Polohy at the time. 

“I saw this family pushing a cart on the side of the road. I stopped and told them to put their things in my trailer,” said Zhirnikov.

As the family concluded their perilous journey in Zhirnikov’s van, each member dreamt of a different future. 

“I want to find a job. My wife will take care of the children and try to find them a school,” Yevgen said.

Meanwhile, his daughter said- “I want to live in a city that is not like that.”

“And in Ukraine,” the 10-year-old’s undeterred spirit wished.