It sounds like all (or most) of the family and friends have gotten out of Mariupol. But Viktoria’s mother’s apartment is now gone.

Zhenya was able to talk to Katya 2 today, but not for any length of time (bad signal, low battery, etc.). However he was able to get some updates, which he then relayed to Viktoria. Today, Katya 2, her son Vanya and their cat left Mariupol on foot, and walked 8-10 miles to a neighboring town. Apparently there had been rumors in Mariupol that buses were in this next town to evacuate people. Once she was out of the city a bit, she was able to get a signal. It sounds like there was a fighting along or heard from that highway, but they were able to make safely, and are spending the night in a school there. Not sure what will happen tomorrow, but at least they’re out of Mariupol.

Katya 2’s mother, Nellie, and Nellie’s friend (and possibly one or two others from the basement) left Mariupol yesterday, also on foot. I’m not sure of the details here, but it sounds like they might have traveled the other direction, toward Russia, because they have relatives over there.

The other group — Baba Katya, Rodion (Viktoria’s nephew), B. Katya’s niece Oksana and Oksana’s family — were able to leave by car, today or yesterday, I’m not sure which. Oksana’s husband had a car, but it sounds like it was damaged a bit from the shelling and may not have had a lot of gas/diesel. But I guess things were adequate enough (they were probably able to scrounge up some diesel), so everyone piled in and joined up in that convoy of private cars heading to Berdyansk. Beyond just their departure, there hasn’t been any real status update.

Viktoria’s sister Inna is a mystery. Apparently she would just come and go from the shelter at the apartment block, and was often seen (often with her “boyfriend”) roaming around outside. Since Inna’s companions always tended to the unsavory side, Viktoria thinks she was probably out burglarizing apartments for food and alcohol. In any case, she didn’t spend all her time at the shelter and definitely wasn’t part of the groups that left.

The catalyst to all this, as if anything beyond the war and shelling was needed, may have been the loss of Viktoria’s mother’s apartment. Although it wasn’t directly hit by artillery or gunfire, the adjoining apartment complex suffered damage and was on fire. Winds in the area then blew the fire to “our” apartment block, and V’s mother’s apartment caught fire. Without any emergency services, it’s quite likely that it will have been a total loss.

So, some positive developments it would seem. I will give updates as they become available. There’s still no word on Viktoria’s grandson and his family; fingers are still crossed. I should point out that the information here might not be completely accurate. Viktoria was up all night and with this news, was in something of a manic state. This, coupled with her usually convoluted story-telling style, means I might have some of the details confused; I’ll correct and clarify things as needed.

While the city might be all but gone, at least most of the people closest to Viktoria are on their way to safety (or, at least, more safety).