Yuliya Campbell and her mother Tatiana Petrukhina
(Picture: handout)A Ukrainian woman living in Kent has said “all we can do is hope” after not hearing from her family in the besieged port city of Mariupol for 12 days.
Last week, the Standard reported that Yuliya Campbell, 36, from Kent said it was “torture” not knowing if her family were OK.
Her family members are thought to be among tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the city, which is encircled by Russian forces.
Mrs Campbell was born and grew up in the southern Ukrainian city which is close to the border with Russia.
She is now raising awareness of the plight of the people of Mariupol and said she wants to give them a “voice”. She also wants to see an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian aid reach the city.
Giving an update on her situation, she told BBC Breakfast she has had “no contact with my direct family” yet.
“I know the areas of the city where my family is based, so I'm just keeping an eye on what is happening in those places,” she said.
“Every day you go and check your phone, is the house still standing? Is the area being bombed? You do get updates but they're very very small. All we can do is hope that it's going to end soon.”
The last thing Mrs Campbell’s 66-year-old mother Tatiana Petrukhina told her was that the electricity had stopped working so she didn’t know how long the battery was going to last.
“Don’t worry, we’re fine,” she told her.
But 12 days on, Mrs Campbell has spoken of the “unimaginable” ordeal she is going through.
Mrs Campbell’s aunt, Iryna Cherednichenko, works as a nurse at the maternity hospital which last week was hit by a Russian air strike, with a pregnant woman and her baby among the victims.
She said all she can do is hope that her aunt, who has worked there for more than 36 years, “was not in an emergency ward”.
Mrs Campbell said: “I imagine she wasn’t there that day, that is my only hope”.
More than 2,500 civilians have died in Mariupol since the invasion began on February 24, presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in a televised interview on Monday.
With the situation deteriorating every day, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned that “time is running out” for residents unless they get access to humanitarian aid and an immediate ceasefire is agreed.
Those in the region have been without water and electricity supplies for days, with the latest reports saying food supplies are dangerously low.
Meanwhile, numerous attempts to create humanitarian corridors have failed.
However, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister confirmed it will “once again” attempt to evacuate trapped civilians through 10 humanitarian corridors, including Mariupol, on Monday.
She said: “We will, once again, try to unblock the movement of the humanitarian convoy carrying food and medicine to (Mariupol) from Berdiansk.”
Describing what the people of Mariupol are going through, Mrs Campbell told the Standard: “I have been trying to get the message across because people have been living in Mariupol with no heat, no water, no gas, no internet.
“The city is being shelled, bombed and shot at 24 hours a day. They have no breaks.
“They have no chance to go out and source any food, to get any water, because when you’re outside you are a walking target.
“Because no humanitarian aid is able to reach them, whatever they have left at this stage is extremely low.”
Mariupol, a city of about 440,000 people, is a key strategic target for Russia.
Taking control of it would allow Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine to join forces with troops in Crimea.
The city has been subjected to a two-week blockade and heavy shelling by Russian forces, destroying apartment blocks and flattening civilian areas.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said last week the situation in Mariupol was the most difficult in the country.
