Anya spent a month under occupation/Photo by Alina Turishin, Channel 24
The village of Novoye in the Chernihiv region has been under Russian occupation since the first day of the full-scale invasion. Residents said the daily explosions forced children to hide in shelters for weeks. And during the explosions, they cried and lay down on the ground.
About how the Russian invaders went from house to house, asked for food and took away phones on the street, and children and adults hid from enemy shelling – local residents told the Channel 24 website exclusively.
“We would have bread, because we hungry for a few days”
Russian troops in the village forced all civilians to wear white armbands. And hang them on your fences. People remember how the occupiers were looking for those who fought in Donbas since 2014. And also how they went into houses and, threatening, asked for food. Children who have been under occupation for a month are afraid of sounds, war and Russian soldiers.
A resident of Novy Nina remembered how the invaders asked for bread. A woman was cleaning her yard when they entered her with machine guns.
They said: “Don't be afraid of us, we are with the world.” I left because I had to do? They say: “We would like bread, because we have been hungry for several days.” My sister lived nearby. She saw through the window and almost barefoot ran out. I then still thought: “What kind of dear are you running, and if they kill me?” And she is my sister, – said Nina.
Russian soldiers said that there were a lot of them, and they had not eaten anything for several days. They themselves are military personnel and came from the Altai Territory.
We told them that on February 24 they should bring us a pension, but they didn’t. And they don't bring groceries either. We were saved by the fact that they were from the city, and they did not know that there were potatoes in the cellars in the village, conservation. They realized we had nothing,” she added.
Russian trenches/Photo by Alina Turishin, Channel 24
According to the woman, the Russian soldiers assured that they “came to protect”. However, the villagers answered that everything was fine in Ukraine and there was no need to protect from anyone.
They asked: “Why didn't you leave?” And we have nowhere to go, we are at home. Where are we going? Well, they left. And we were scared. A few days later, we noticed how they entered the neighboring hut, she said.
The woman told about another case when she stood with the phone on the street. The Russians came up with machine guns and said not to take pictures. One soldier asked to call home in Russia – he started dialing, but the connection did not work.
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Impact of war on children
Anya and Sofiyka, who are seven years old, say they are afraid of war. They even created a toy bunker to “hide because there's a cellar”. Their grandmother, Natalia, added that the children spent weeks in the cellars, because they were shelled from all sides.
Children sat in basements for weeks/Photo by Alina Turishin, Channel 24
How we lived and suffered here, God forbid. We were shelled from all sides. We were under occupation. One of the shells fell into the garden. We thought that if the cellar was covered, we would not get out, – the woman noticed.
Anya and Sofiyka were under occupation for a month/Photo by Alina Turishin, Channel 24
Nicholas has two sons. The eldest is 12 years old, so he understood that the war had begun. The father said that the boy was shaking from what he felt. And when planes flew, he screamed, cried, and immediately fell to the floor.
Nikolay and his sons were under occupation for a month/Photo by Alina Turishin, Channel 24
I calmed him down. He said that “everything, the plane has already flown, do not be afraid.” He flew at a height of 50 meters from the tree. Once “flew” 500 meters from us. Then the house shook and a shell hit. I jumped into the house and immediately sat down. The whistle was incredible. I have never heard of this, – said the man.
The boy himself clings to his father and is embarrassed to speak. However, he said that he saw equipment and Russian soldiers with machine guns, and now he is afraid of war and sounds.
Nikolai's eldest son/Photo by Alina Turishin< /p>
The youngest son of Nikolai did not understand anything, because he was only four years old. But he also felt something, his father said. In the room, the child created a whole army of toys so that no one would enter there. Even at night, the boy puts up an army out of wooden cubes, and makes tanks out of Lego. According to the man, in this way he “defends himself and thinks that it will save him.”
It is also interesting – the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed the SU-34 aircraft of the invaders in the Kharkiv region: watch the video
