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Escaping through Mariupol: The image for which Marianna Vyshemirsky became known around the world in early March
Photo:
Mstyslav Chernov / AP
Marianna Vyshemirsky was heavily pregnant when a Russian air strike in early March targeted the maternity hospital in Mariupol where she had been staying.
Photographers from the AP news agency document how she flees the building with her belongings.
The pictures go around the world.
Shortly thereafter, the Russian state defamed the young woman: she was an actress, and there had never been an attack.
The photos are a staging of the Ukrainian army.
The claim is a lie, AP photographers confirm there were air strikes and the photos are authentic.
Vyshemirsky herself, who was successful on Instagram as a beauty blogger under her maiden name Marianna Podgurskaya before the Ukraine war, is nevertheless attacked.
Now , for the first time since the attack , she has given an interview to the BBC , the first western media outlet to do so .
At first she didn't notice anything about the campaign against her, she tells the BBC.
She had no internet for several days.
When she was back on Instagram, her account was full of hate messages and allegations.
"I received threats that they would come and find me, that I would be killed, that my child would be cut into pieces," says Vyshemirsky.
She rejects an alleged staging.
»It was really humbling, because I experienced all that«
She explains that there are photos of her going in and fleeing the clinic: First, all the women and the staff fled to a protective bunker before the attack.
Then some returned to get their belongings.
Since she was only slightly injured, she also left.
Other women were less fortunate.
The AP photographers arrived at the scene when most of the women were safe.
She was one of the last to be photographed several times.
She is ashamed that the pictures were used for false reports about her.
"It was really humbling because I've been through all that."
However, in the interview, Vyshemirsky does not direct criticism of the Russian state - but of the AP photographers.
They would have highlighted these in photos instead of interviewing other pregnant women to support the authenticity of the attacks.
However, she confirms that there was an attack.
"You could hear everything flying around, shrapnel and other things," says Vyshemirsky.
"The sounds rang in my ears for a long time."
"She came at a difficult time"
According to the BBC, Vyshemirsky has now found shelter in the Donbass - albeit in a pro-Russian area.
The interview was mediated through a pro-Russian blogger who was also present during the conversation with the BBC.
She had previously also given an interview to the blogger, there is speculation as to how freely she can speak.
Vyshemirsky speaks of not making any plans for the future at this time, "because we don't know what tomorrow will bring."
She is safe with her husband Yuri, a former employee of the embattled Azov Steelworks.
Shortly after the evacuation from the maternity hospital, their daughter Veronika was born.
"It came at a difficult time," says Vyshemirsky, "but it's better under the circumstances than if it hadn't come at all."
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