The port city, named for the Mother of God, in southern Ukraine was a prime target in Russia\u2019s first wave of attacks in an unprovoked invasion of the country on 24 February 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With nowhere else to go, the 84-year-old took shelter in her cold basement. Seven days passed before she decided to take up the courage and head to her neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI saw missiles flying above me. I was walking down the street and everything was destroyed,\u201d she told ONE magazine. \u201cThe whole city was at war. Everything was on fire. The shell holes were huge. In our garden, they were up to 10 meters [33 feet] deep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI walked and walked,\u201d she said. \u201cGod saved me and I was not harmed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Mrs. Kostenko arrived at her neighbors\u2019 house, she noticed their roof had collapsed and their windows were broken. Still, they took her in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey accepted me. I had a bad cold,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She stayed with them for two months, before returning home to find half of her house destroyed by shelling. She stayed there 45 days before a team of volunteers evacuated her to Zaporizhzhia. By that time, Mariupol had fallen under Russian occupation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n