The Battle of Mariupo

How would you cope it you were at the centre of a war? In March 2022, the BBC told the stories of four young women whose lives were changed forever by war in Ukraine. They were not soldiers, activists or politicians. They were civilians, not used to war or how to deal with it. They kept audio diaries that told a raw truth about loss, hope and even love. Some packed up and left with their children while others remained in the eye of the storm. Among them, a language teacher in Kyiv called Alexandra who did not know if her parents were still alive in the besieged city of Mariupol. Mari, a model and dancer, who was caught up in shelling in Chernihiv. And Yulia, who gave birth as bombs rained down on Kharkhiv. But what’s happened to them since? Assignment tries to trace them, to discover how their lives have changed in four months of war.

(Photo Credit: Mari Margun)