Mariupolchanka FC: Surviving the siege of Mariupol

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Mariupol has been mostly destroyed. The southern Ukrainian city has endured weeks of relentless bombardment and now many of the city’s 400,000 inhabitants are in mourning. Mariupol emerged as a cultural heartland in the past few years, buoyed by investment and community energy. Now much of it is in ruins. Vitaliy Shevchenko from BBC Monitoring, who is from the neighbouring Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, follows the experience of the Mariupolchanka FC, a self-made professional women’s football team from the city and self-proclaimed “family of choice”. Vitaliy explores the city through their eyes, before the war and during the war, as they make difficult decisions about how to endure the destruction of their lives. (Photo: Mariupolchanka FC training in the snow. Credit: @FC_Mariupol)