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ConflictsUkraine

Breaking out of Mariupol

12:36

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May 21, 2022

People in Mariupol put up a long fight, but in the end, the city surrendered to Russian invaders. Now, Mariupol is a symbol of Ukrainians’ tenacity and resistance. The story of Mykhailo Puryshev exemplifies this spirit too.

He is a hero to all those he pulled out of a besieged Mariupol - he simply could not do otherwise, as he says himself. Mykhailo Puryshev was in Kiev when Russian troops invaded Ukraine, but the club with which he had earned his living until then - his pride and joy - was in Mariupol. It was once a place to party, dance, and forget everyday life - with more than a dozen staff and their families. Mykhailo wanted to at least save these people from the Russian shelling - and set off in a red minibus that he bought especially for that purpose. Across the front lines, past checkpoints, he repeatedly came under fire - and still kept going until it was no longer possible. He made the drive from Kiev to Mariupol and back at least half a dozen times, each time bringing food and medicine into the besieged city while also taking people out and bringing them to Kiev. Until that point, he had not known how you could love a country. But now, Mykhailo says, he knows - and he wants to continue fighting for a free Ukraine. A film by Mathias Bölinger.

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Reporter — On Location

DW’s on-the-ground reporters are always close to the action, be it covering international events or zooming in on some of the quirks of daily life. Camera always in hand, they report on the changes they see taking place in Germany, Europe and around the world.