Occupiers Shot Dead 2 Retired People When They Ran to Rescue a Wounded Neighbor: Memories of a Resident of Irpin

Mrs. Valentyna’s family lived under “russian world” for three weeks…

One week ago, on March 28, the Ukrainian military liberated Irpin from Russian invaders. However, refugees are still leaving the city. There are many reasons: destroyed houses, injuries, nervous tension due to experienced events, unbearable memories or fear of being alone among empty buildings.

“Our family is from Stanytsia Luhanska. The war was seen back in 2014, – says Valentina, an elderly woman. – We suffered for a year in Stanytsia – we hid in basements. The daughter’s husband is from Lysychansk – although the Ukrainians returned the city in two days, there was no work. And what to do without money? Our savings quickly ran out, I was not retired yet. The grandchildren needed a school and a kindergarten – the eldest is 9 years old, the youngest is 5 years old”

So, the family decided to go to Kyiv region together. They arrived in Irpin, not far from the capital, in 2015. Here they rented an accommodation in the private sector and settled: Valentyna with her husband, daughter with son-in-law and two grandchildren. The third grandson, Stepan, was born in Irpin. And when Stepan was 4, the war caught up with his family again. They were forced to live in the occupation for about three weeks.

The acquaintance with the occupiers stuck in Valentyna’s memory the most:

“20 soldiers with machine guns entered the house. Stepan, the youngest grandson, was frightened and started screaming. Valentyna began to beg: “Put the guns down, he’s afraid”. And I was allowed to go to the next room with my grandson. Passing by the soldiers, one of them handed Stepan a cartridge as a toy. We don’t need this grief, I replied quietly”.

The phones of other family members were confiscated, smashed and returned.

“So, we were left without communication, and later without light, without water and heating. Fortunately, we bought food earlier, some groceries were left by the neighbors who evacuated, so we did not go hungry. The wood-burning stove has become the only source of heat, a place to cook and a place to sleep”, the woman says.

To our horror, the street was dug with trenches, a checkpoint was set up near our house. And we constantly felt their presence – conversations, drunkenness. It’s like an enemy’s lair – you never know how their mood will affect our lives, and that’s why we were always worried”.

The family wrote “Children” at the gate, the car was covered with garbage and mattresses. They became very careful – they didn’t leave the house unnecessarily, they didn’t even look out of the gate. The hardest part was the water. The well was across the road – and someone had to go to it. Therefore, water was saved – used only for washing and cooking.

They still went for water when machine gun fire, shelling and explosions subsided. In one such case, a wounded neighbor was seen.

“He was a very young man, and near the fence and further down the street lay the dead old neighbors – Grandma Laryssa, her husband and a young woman. The 80-year-old pensioners ran under automatic queues to help the boy, and remained lying near the fence. A shot to the woman’s head and her husband’s chest ended their lives. And it’s such a horrible time – you do not know whether it is possible to bury the elderly, whether the occupiers did not mine the bodies? After all, where and how to bury them?” – Mrs. Valentyna complains.

However, the boy next door was tied up and taken away. And his old rescuers, who died from enemy bullets, lay under the fence for another six days – until their bodies were taken away by the Ukrainian military.

“Every day we felt how the magical city of Irpin was smashed and destroyed: they broke into empty houses, destroyed fences, electric poles, destroyed the street, ran over the cars by tanks. A five-story building was shelled near us”, Ms. Valentyna recalls.

At that moment, the woman’s eyes got wet: “A week ago, shelling began, shells landed on the roofs of nearby houses, caused fires, sowed death. My ears were ringing, and there was only one thing in my mind: “God save us”.

Then, fortunately, “green corridors” were opened. The family wanted to flee the city by car, but changed their minds. They waited another week and then, for the sake of their grandchildren, decided to go on the road. The neighbor had a phone. He hid the old device and then gave it to them. He decided to stay. His father died – he could not stand the horrors of war, so it was necessary to draw up documents, bury him in the cemetery…

Valentyna sighs: “Where should we go? We can’t go home, we can’t stay either. Thanks to a friend of my son-in-law, who is a volunteer, we are temporarily going to Khmelnytsky region. There we will be given an empty house. My head is gray from the war – I have no nerves at all. Everything is still trembling with fear”.

There are hundreds of people like Mrs. Valentyna and her family. A local resident, Veniamin, is also escaping from Irpin. Now he is going to his eldest daughter, who lives in Darnytskyi district of the capital. The man’s house was completely destroyed by an enemy shell on March 25. He himself escaped only because he was hiding in the basement at the time. Today, the man still does not know the fate of his youngest daughter, who dared to evacuate by the “green corridor” a little earlier. He complains that he does not understand how to live without his own house now.

“Part of my life ended with it”, sights Mr. Veniamin.

Volunteers and rescuers take turns approaching Irpin refugees, offering water, food and a warm blanket. Everyone is helped to connect with family and friends.

“Mom, why are you crying? – A woman’s voice can be heard somewhere nearby. – You know how strong I am. I survived, I’ll come to you soon, just don’t cry! Do you hear me, mom?”…

Urgent and important messages about the Russian-Ukrainian war and other events in the city and Irpin region can be found on our Facebook page and Telegram-channel.

Source: vechirniy.kyiv.ua