We travelled almost 800 kilometres down towards the sea of Azov, or, as the local people say “The last Ukrainian sea”. A day long journey (thirteen hours) was warmed up by anticipation to reach “the site”.

In Zaporizhzhya we were joined by Konstantin Batozskiy – an activist from Mariupol. We learned the history of ancient tribes that lived in these areas centuries ago and the story of how a beautiful multi ethnic town named Mariupol was transformed into a massive industrial giant. Almost by sunset we approached a road sign “Донецька область” (Donbas region) with a recent graffiti “God, save Ukraine” on top of it. Just before entering Mariupol we had our passports checked at the block post of the city. Finally we were able to get off the bumpy bus and immediately our noses sensed the presence of heavy industry and the sea.

Video: Vladimir Cheppel