Journeys across borders: Stories from Mariupol

For those who find themselves in areas occupied by Russia, each trip to Ukrainian territory becomes a multi-step journey. The only functioning border crossing between Ukraine and Belarus is a narrow corridor through which thousands of people try to return to their families.

Twenty-three-year-old Alina returned to her hometown of Mariupol after three years. The city, which once thrived with life, is completely different today. "The Mariupol I knew doesn't exist anymore," Alina tells Deutsche Welle. Moscow annexed these territories in 2022.

Alina travelled through Ukraine, Poland, Belarus, and Russia to see her parents. The five-day journey cost her about $750 CAD. She recalls a Russian border official asking, "Why don't you want to stay in Russia?"

When asked how her parents are doing, she responds briefly, "They're surviving." Forced to live in new conditions, they barely make ends meet. Her mother works in a hair salon, and her father is a construction worker.

Seventy-year-old Ljubow decided to see her children and grandchildren in Odessa. The Ukrainian woman comes from a village near Mariupol. After three years of separation, she decided for the first time to leave the occupied territories.

Before the war, the trip took her a few hours by bus. Now, the detour through Russia, Belarus, and the European Union countries took two days and cost $320 CAD. She had to walk the last three kilometres.

— Thank God our border guards put my suitcase on a car, she says in an interview with a Deutsche Welle reporter.

Ljubow admits she possesses a Russian passport, but out of necessity. A pension of $170 CAD is her only source of income. However, it is not enough to cover basic needs. The winter coal cost is $420 CAD, forcing her to go hungry and save for three months. - I no longer have anyone there, she admits.