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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV Mariupol To Rivne – Oshchudlyak
HEADLINE: This Mariupol Family Barely Made It Out Of Occupied City
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 6/30/2022 at 8am
BYLINE: Omelyan Oshchudlyak
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Rivne, Ukraine
VIDEOGRAPHER: Yuriy Dankevych
VIDEO EDITOR: Yuriy Dankevych
SCRIPT EDITORS: KE; MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA (Story Hunter)
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB X TV X RADIO __
TRT: 3:04
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO:))
[[Maxym Kudryashov and his family fled Mariupol with their daughter in their arms and loved ones buried in the yard of their destroyed house. They are among the lucky refugee families who managed to get out of Mariupol and get to Rivne in western Ukraine. For VOA, Omelyan Oshchudlyak has more from Rivne. ]]
(NARRATION)
Work is in full swing in this repair shop, even though many of its employees are fighting in the war.
((Andriy Karaush, Rivne Utility Company Chief)) ((IN UKRAINIAN))
“We now have five displaced persons who took the open positions at the company; they are all really high-level specialists.”
(NARRATION)
Before the war, Maxym Kudryashov worked at large industrial plants in Mariupol. Today, he’s working again in Rivne.
((Maxym Kudryashov, Displaced From Mariupol)) ((IN UKRAINIAN))
“I finally have normal dreams again. Before that, for a month, in all my dreams I was running away…”
(NARRATION)
With his wife Lyudmyla, seven-year-old daughter Liza and a pet rabbit, the family escaped after living in their hometown of Mariupol for a month while Russian forces occupied their city.
((Lyudmyla Kudryashova, Displaced Mariupol Resident)) ((IN RUSSIAN))
“The rabbit was so helpful for our child. We would put headphones on her head so that she could not hear explosions; she would sit and hug the rabbit. With music in her ears, she hid in a corner with a rabbit, covered by a blanket. Then we hid in the basement the same way.”
(NARRATION)
The rabbit passed all the checkpoints in its owners' arms when the family left Mariupol heading west.
((Lyudmyla Kudryashova, Mariupol Resident)) ((IN RUSSIAN))
“Our car was marked with white ribbons, with a large sign saying ‘Children’. It was obvious I was carrying a child in my arms. Yet they still shot at me.”
(NARRATION)
Maxym and Lyudmyla stayed in Mariupol for a month because her gravely ill mother needed constant care.
Forced to make a painfully hard life choice,
(( COURTESY: Kudryashov Family))
they decided to flee when they realized the Russian army was destroying their
neighborhood, house after house.
((Lyudmyla Kudryashova, Displaced Mariupol Resident)) ((IN RUSSIAN))
“…People did not have time to leave the buildings. They fell from the nineth, eighth, seventh floors, crying.
((COURTESY: Kudryashov Family))
We saw people jump out of windows because their apartments were on fire. And it was impossible to help them…”
(NARRATION)
Lyudmyla`s mother died in Mariupol after the family fled, and their neighbors buried her in the yard.
In the relative safety of Rivne, this family also managed to leave behind some of their fear.
((COURTESY: Kudryashov Family))
((Maxym Kudryashov, Mariupol Resident)) ((IN RUSSIAN))
“I became interested in playing the piano a year ago and bought a synthesizer. One tune I composed is called ‘Music of The Sea’. I’ve mixed it with a video of our Azov Sea filmed from the pier. When the war started and everything burned down, everything was destroyed, this video became like a farewell to the city for me. I watch it sometimes, reminiscing about how things were…”
((Omelyan Oshchudlyak for VOA News, Rivne, Ukraine))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Rivne, Ukraine
BylineOmelyan Oshchudlyak
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
