A life or death journey: Meet the Ukrainian volunteers risking it all to rescue civilians from Mariupol

Ukraine’s citizens are driving through airstrikes, shelling and Russian-occupied territory to help friends, relatives and strangers escape the besieged and bombarded city, reports Bel Trew in Zaporizhzhia

A volunteer looks at the board in a reception centre in Zaporizhzhia, where families post information about missing people trapped in Mariupol (Bel Trew)

The road to Mariupol is perhaps the most dangerous in the world.

But Elena and other brave volunteers risk their lives almost every day driving down it to rescue civilians trapped by Russia’s war.

The besieged coastal city is enduring the most ferocious bombardment of Vladimir Putin’s conflict in Ukraine.