Kardashynka, a small village in southern Ukraine, is the home of Maryna and Valentyna.
A charming cluster of homes in the marshy lowlands of the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, now occupied by Russia.
The neighbors had not been able to cross the river to go there even after Kherson city was liberated in November due to bridges being destroyed.
They finally made that journey this week while being rescued from the recent catastrophic floods, in a series of events that few could have anticipated.
We started shouting and waving when a boat passed, according to Maryna.
Since the collapse of the Khakovka dam upstream, the Dnipro has devoured much of the area around her.
Their residences are located close to the watery front line dividing the territory controlled by Ukraine from that occupied by Russia.
Maryna says, "We've been waiting for assistance. "Valentyna is 86 years old, while I'm 76 and ailing.
It has been very challenging. It felt like we were on an uninhabited island because there was no power and no reception. ".
She gets upset and starts crying.
Their friend Viktor Kovalenko, whose wife was recently killed by shelling across the river, has joined them.
He had to obtain her death certificate from the Moscow-installed officials in charge of his neighborhood before being saved.
She was interred next to my mother. I told her to be patient," he claims.
He is feeling deep, visceral pain.
"I continued to curse at the Russians. How they avoided killing me is beyond me. If only you realized how wonderful our life was as a couple. I currently have nothing—no wife, no home, nothing. ".
Maryna, Valentyna, and Viktor are undoubtedly the fortunate ones because the eastern bank has experienced the worst flooding.
On the Telegram app, hundreds of people have been posting requests to be rescued from there.
Svitlana writes, "Help me please! There are 35 trapped people at an address.". Children are crying and screaming, and they are all on a nearby roof, she claims.
"We've gone three days without food or water, and we're slowly dying. Please, kindly. ".
We have seen the names of 150 people who are reportedly missing on one local list, which was published on Friday.
There is a disabled woman born in 1958 and a grandmother born in 1939, writes Aliona. Help! We have to get them out of here.
There was no response when our team called a number of people who claimed to be trapped on the Russian side.
Numerous individuals from all over Ukraine have reacted with their addresses and offers to house them after their rescue.
The Ukrainian military claims to have coordinated evacuations from the eastern bank, but some of the evacuations were carried out by "fearless volunteers.".
As we maneuver through the expansive area of Kherson's flooded port in one of the rescue boats, volunteer Viktor informs us that while attempting such a journey, he came under Russian fire.
As he offers a lift to people trapped in their apartment buildings, Viktor explains, "The problem is that Russian soldiers are waiting there and waiting for volunteers or soldiers to arrive so they can shoot them.
The BBC was unable to independently confirm these assertions.
"Working is difficult even now. Kherson is currently the target of an attack. On the island, there was also shelling; a rocket struck us from 30 meters away. ".
Reporting from Kherson over the past few days has revealed that the city has experienced an increase in shelling, and the military leadership has advised volunteers not to go out on the water.
However, it hasn't stopped individuals like Viktor from looking for those who are trapped and still in need of assistance.
Daria Sipigina and Rachael Thorn contributed additional reporting.
