The famous media network "Al Jazeera" has published an article about an Azerbaijani family living in Ukraine, the problems they faced during the war, and their selflessness.
According to Ednews, the report states that the fighting continues in Ukraine, and that the survivors of Mariupol are resuming life in Kyiv.
It is noted that Ulvi Zulfili, originally from Azerbaijan, hardly survived when Mariupol was surrounded by Russian soldiers.
The explosion witnessed by Ulvi Zulfili in the city of Mariupol in the south of Ukraine caused problems in his speech for days, the young man stuttered when he spoke.
In mid-March, hundreds of civilians, including children, gathered in the basement of the Mariupol Drama Theater and hid from the heavy artilleries of the Russian military, which claimed hundreds of lives a day.
Despite the fact that there were signs near the theater with the words "children" in two-meter letters, the building was bombed by a Russian fighters on March 16.
According to Ukrainian officials and media, up to 600 people died as a result of the bombings.
"On that gloomy, cold morning, Zulfili rode his bicycle to the center of Mariupol to find infant formula for his friend's newborn son because his stressed-out mother was unable to breastfeed the baby.
He saw a cruise missile hit a white theater with marble columns. Smoke and dust rose twice from the neighboring supermarket. He was terrified and could not hear any sound," said in the report.
"The strangest moment is when you see the event, but you don't hear it, you can't tell if you are alive or not," the 26-year-old told Al Jazeera in an interview.
“All of a sudden, the sound hits you with an explosive wave. He will almost tear your clothes. You understand that you are alive and you have to run," Ulvi Zulfili added.
The report notes that Ulvi Zulfili came to Ukraine from Azerbaijan when he was four years old and still remembers his early childhood - riding horses and seeing the oil wells that made his homeland in the South Caucasus one of the oldest oil-producing countries in the world.
At the same time, the armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the early 1990s is touched upon during conversation. Despite the signing of a ceasefire between the two countries in 1994, it is remembered that almost every year there are battles.
It is noted that Elshad Zulfili, who moved to Ukraine in the 90s, opened a grocery store in Mariupol a few years ago. He died of a heart attack in his shop in 2005, and Ulvi started supporting the family.
Zulfili's neighborhood was less damaged during the war than the apartment buildings in the center of Mariupol, but his family still preferred to sleep in the ice-cold basement and start each morning by lighting a fire, boiling water, and brewing tea in a samovar.
Zulfili helped his elderly neighbor who could barely walk after surgery:
"The war united all the neighbors, they helped each other with water, food, firewood.
"Zulfili goes to the springs by the sea, his neighbors put their plastic bottles and canisters in the trunk of his car."
Due to the war, they moved to an apartment in one of the settlements on the northern outskirts of Kyiv.
"My mother is upset because she can't find a job and can't help," said Zulfili.
It is noted that Zulfilly's girlfriend has moved to Germany, and he lives with his 56-year-old mother Irada, who is tired of homesickness, boredom and the desire to provide financial assistance.
Translated by Elnur Enveroglu
