Valentyna Konstantinovska was 79 years old when she was photographed laying on the floor of a weapons training in Ukraine’s southeastern port city of Mariupol. She was determined to stay and fight for her beloved city, no matter what. Little did she know, less than two weeks later, Russia would invade and the city would be cut off and laid siege to. The destruction that followed was devastating, with an estimated 25,000 civilians killed and 95 percent of Mariupol destroyed.
Konstantinovska was part of a group of older women who had volunteered for the war effort since 2014, nicknamed the “Babushka Battalion”. They were ready to take up arms or even go “mano a mano” (hand to hand) if they had to protect their city. However, many of them have since been scattered all over Ukraine and the world.
Konstantinovska is currently living in Vita-Pochtovaya, near Kyiv, after stints in Poland and Spain. She returned to Ukraine to help the front by volunteering six days a week to gather supplies and weave nets. But on February 26, 2022, she received a call from her granddaughter in Poland who said she had fainted due to low blood sugar levels. Knowing how serious diabetes can be, Konstantinovska rushed to catch the last train out of Mariupol. Little did she know, it would be the last time she ever saw her home.
The siege of Mariupol is the worst atrocity Russian forces in Ukraine are accused of to date. In Mariupol, Russia is accused of multiple alleged war crimes, including an attack on a drama theatre that is thought to have killed more than 600 people. With tens of thousands of people fleeing for safety, a once tight-knit community has been changed forever.
One family Al Jazeera interviewed in Mariupol last year is now spread around the globe. Viktorii and Andriy Voytsekhovskyy were seeking shelter in a subterranean church when they were forced to flee the city. Andriy had a lucky escape when a grad rocket crashed into an apartment 15 metres (49 feet) from him as he walked his Jack Russell, Chelsea. Viktorii and their son Leon made it to the Netherlands, but Andriy was unable to leave Ukraine because men aged 18 and 60 were instructed to stay and fight the Russians.
To help her son understand what was going on, Viktorii invented a fairytale about a fight between good and evil. Now, she is in the final stages of finishing her first animated film based on the story, which she plans to release later this year. The production team is made up of Ukrainians who fled Mariupol.
Konstantinovska feels no trauma after losing everything, only “anger and hatred towards the Russians”. She believes if she had stayed in Mariupol, she would probably have been among the first dead. “Crying does not buy you freedom. It is the one who fights that gains the world,” she said.
The war in Mariupol has changed lives forever, but it has also brought out resilience and strength in those affected by it. Konstantinovska and Viktorii are just two examples of how people can come together in times of adversity and fight for what they believe in.